Tenchi Muyo! & Men in Black: Inheritance
by Will Pii
Summary: Dark Energy Trilogy: Part 3 - Edition 4. Darkness is coming to Earth as has been foretold, and there will be sacrifices by the those who war with it. The end has begun for the Masaki home.
1. Act 1

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 1Scene 1 – The Princess's Lament

**(The dying rays of the setting sun reflect off the many shattered windows of the cityscape within Manhattan Island. From the sky, white ashes gracefully descend as snow against the rose and amber horizon. Over this calm sight, Princess Ayeka narrates, her voice distant and melancholic.)**

**Ayeka:** The twelfth of September, 1998, the end of my life on Earth.

**(Above the stone walls of the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority building, two Juraian tree-ships float silently against the fiery mystique of the sky behind. One is readily recognized as Ryu-Oh, Ayeka's personal vessel, by its elegantly carved hull from the white wood of Jurai. The other is known as Funaho, Yosho's craft, known for its reddish-brown exterior and cross-like configuration. Each collects a layer of the ashen material falling from the sky upon their upturned frames.)**

**Ayeka:** All those words I could have said, those I _should_ have said... they no longer mattered. There were no more words to say.

**(On the ground below, several men in black suits rush from the building into the streets, passing the solitary Ayeka. Shocked and horrified, tears roll down her face as she stands helplessly watching the scene before her. Dressed in her soft red combat attire, the black Mark of Rage claws across her cheeks beneath the saline running from her eyes. Her tiara rests quietly in her violet tresses while she slides down to her knees.)**

**Ayeka:** All the wonderful times, even the bad times... never to return again.

**(The spiked red hair of Dr Washu Hakubi rushes past as the great mind joins the Men in Black (MiB) gathering a short distance ahead of Ayeka. Nearby, Kiyone Makibi, the skilled Galaxy Police (GP) detective first class, closes her eyes and lowers her head, her teal hair shrouding her disheartened face. Her partner, Detective First-Class Mihoshi Kuramitsu, kneels beside her, the young Princess Sasami unconscious in her arms.)**

**Ayeka:** It was the day everything changed, for all of us.

**(Close to the mass of MiB operatives, the former space pirate Ryoko screams her sorrow into the crowd, tears streaming down her face. She struggles against the grip of the two legendary Juraian knights, Azaka and Kamidake, each solemnly restraining her from the crowd. At their side, the bounty huntress Nagi stands, her chin lowered and her eyes closed in respect.)**

**Ayeka:** I couldn't stop it. I couldn't save him from what happened...

**(The crowd parts when Washu leads a troupe of men alongside a gurney. Upon this medical cot, Tenchi Masaki, the unwitting crown prince of Jurai's royal family, lies motionless, his skin singed with black and red. The dread in Ayeka's eyes consumes her as she buries her face in her hands, audibly weeping.)**

**Ayeka:** Or myself from what was to come.

**(She collapses, her arms slowing the fall to the ground. Her distraught expression twists her beautiful face in torment while Washu and her cohort wheel Tenchi into the Triborough building.)**

**Ayeka:** Only days before, when this began, I could never... none of use could have ever predicted this... horrible fate.

Scene 2 – The Shadow's Return

**(Against the endless tapestry of the galaxies of the universe, a Juraian border station hangs in the void, ships of various types and configurations commuting amongst its extended docking arms. Aboard its command deck, the white-bearded director raises a cup of tea to his lips, his subordinates tending to their daily routines dutifully under his watchful gaze. Called "uncle" by the young Princess Sasami, this man once helped her group enter Jurai territory during the usurper Kagato's short reign.)**

**(Here, no excitement runs through the corridors, merely those weary from their travels to and from the Jurai Empire. The director sips his tea again, his blue and white uniform cleaned and properly pressed. A young man steps to his side and bows respectfully, holding a data tablet under his arm.)**

**Man:** Admiral Soichiro.

**(The elder man directs his attention to his junior when the other stands erect.)**

**Soichiro:** Yes, commander?

**(This commander pulls the table from beneath his arm and taps a few keys upon it, causing it to display scrolling text. Within this Juraiji text, reports of ship status and docking requests are listed, many of the names succeeded by "prince", "general", or another term of social status.)**

**Commander:** Here is the list of dignitaries you requested.

**(The admiral nods, accepting this.)**

**Soichiro:** Thank you.

**(He skims the data himself while the junior officer comments.)**

**Commander:** Many of them have expressed particular room accommodations while they refuel and have their passports checked.

**(Soichiro grins.)**

**Soichiro:** Of course. We should show them fine hospitality during their stay.

**(The commander concurs and adds.)**

**Commander:** Very good, sir. It has been very quiet lately.

**(Soichiro narrows his eyes at the text before him with a grimace and a shake of the head, disliking the request he recently read. He remarks with a slight sarcastic edge.)**

**Soichiro:** Indeed, not that these requests might not cause some noise. The Aquans' room will need to be flooded before they arrive.

**(The subordinate chuckles, a slight shake to his head.)**

**Commander:** That wasn't quite my meaning, sir.

**(Looking up, Soichiro raises a brow at the thoughtful expression of his officer.)**

**Commander:** Traffic across the border has been down the past six months.

**(With a sigh, the admiral agrees.)**

**Soichiro:** Since the Jurai royal family reunion. Given the commotion that happened, I'm not completely surprised, commander.

**(The commander nods, inquiring.)**

**Commander:** If I might ask, what was it like, sir?

**(Soichiro glances back to the data tablet, commenting distantly.)**

**Soichiro:** I didn't see what happened myself. I was in the hospital for a good portion of the reunion. What I know of it came from my talks with Sagami.

**Commander:** From the reports, your son was a hero.

**(A prideful grin emerges on the elder man's face as he acknowledges this. However, an angry scarlet light fills the deck as an alarm siren screams. All the deck crew quickly attend to their stations while Soichiro spins his grave attentions to a young lieutenant close at hand.)**

**Soichiro:** What's wrong, lieutenant?

**(The young man blinks dumbly at the readings before him as he answers.)**

**Lieutenant:** I'm not sure, sir. The sensor arrays state that we have incoming, but I can't seem to locate anything.

**(The commander comes to his side and glances over the scrolling data himself. Across the screen, streams of zeros are listed next to various blank graphs: "heat", "mass", "charge", "field", and "spectral" among many others. Furrowing his brow, the senior officer questions him.)**

**Commander:** Do you have a bearing on the bogey?

**(He nods before Soichiro issues his order.)**

**Soichiro:** Show me.

**(The lieutenant nods and taps select keys before him, causing a large, transparent display window to appear before the admiral. Against the star-studded void, a spherical distortion races through the emptiness. Around its perimeter, a dull crimson aura flares like a smoldering fire, drawing the surprised expressions from the station's crew.)**

**(A chill rushes through Soichiro's back gazing at the orb while an anxious silence hangs over his men. Next to the image, windows depicting the blank graphs appears and a wireframe model of the distortion open while the lieutenant adds.)**

**Lieutenant:** It has no signs, sir. It... shouldn't be there.

**(With a stern voice, Soichiro inquires.)**

**Soichiro:** What is its trajectory, son?

**(The junior officer taps a few keys while a window materializes, containing a map of the vicinity of the station. The position of the distortion is marked with a red dot with a funnel-like plot moving just ahead of it. This diagram updates itself continuously, moving the dot forward and changing the plot as it anticipates the possible paths. Further, a dashed arc passes through the station ahead of the point, representing the Juraian border fence of defense satellites.)**

**(Coolly, the admiral notes that the projected paths do not approach the station and turns to his commander.)**

**Soichiro:** It's headed for the border. Commander, close the border and the station.

**(He affirms this and rushes to another junior officer's station while the admiral regards the young lieutenant.)**

**Soichiro:** Lieutenant, record that data and stream it directly to Jurai high command immediately.

**(The officer acknowledges the order and sets to work. However, Soichiro focuses coldly on the orb, commenting to himself.)**

**Soichiro:** Why here?

**(Outside, the orb of fiery distortion swoops through space, closing on the Juraian border. However, the grid of satellites lining the border flash white as a static field ignites between them. Nearby ships quickly leave the station's immediate vicinity before the sphere passes them, aimed for the defense perimeter.)**

**(The orb does not slow as it barrels into the defensive line, sparks of azure and crimson exploding from the point of impact. The defensive field bows while sparking lines of force appear through the transparent screens of power. The satellites closest to the distortion blacken, seeming scorched by their proximity to this phenomenon.)**

**(Aboard the station, Soichiro watches this effect upon his monitor display. The commander turns to the screen and points at the darkening satellites, concern and confusion wracking his voice and face.)**

**Commander:** It should be vapor by now. The satellites are at full capacity, but they're failing!

**(The young lieutenant spins to the commander and lets his anxiety speak through his words.)**

**Lieutenant:** The strain is surpassing the maximum tolerance, sir!

**(Outside, the blackened satellites shake violently as sparks of red envelope them. Soon, they burst into shards of Juraian wood and metal, the defensive screens vanishing with them. The distortion then slides past the frontier and out of Juraian territory.)**

**(Soichiro observes the distortion, his officers scurrying around their stations. His brows furrow coldly into the distance as the orb vanishes from sight. He closes his eyes and gravely addresses his subordinates.)**

**Soichiro:** Declare a Level One Emergency.

**(The officers turn to him while he glares straight at where the distortion vanished into the star-scape.)**

**Soichiro:** Get me the fleet admiral, ASAP.

Scene 3 – Proper Channels

**(Various men in black suits wander between rows of desks facing a central monitor. Below the large display, two squid-like creatures maintain constant attention to their consoles. Behind them, a column rises from the floor, supporting the glass walls of an office. A single desk rests before a bank of monitors, each displaying suited men in various locations around the world.)**

**(In front of the desk, two young people in these black suits, one male and one female, are seated facing the older man behind the furniture piece. Sporting a well-kept mustache and goatee beard, this stoic gentleman raps his fingers along his desk, his cool gaze squarely on the young man before him. The woman lowers her eyes nervously while her companion desperately continues his explanation.)**

**Male Agent:** Zed, it was a legitimate interrogation tactic. The creature would have talked.

**(Zed, the chief agent of the Men in Black, raises a brow as he replies with a cynical edge to his words.)**

**Zed:** Well, I would say so, considering you threatened to blow off his genitalia.

**(The male agent blinks dumbly, as does his associate.)**

**Male Agent:** No... that was his hand...

**(With a shake of his head, Zed disagrees, bringing a glowing blush from the female agent.)**

**Zed:** No, son, it wasn't.

**(Shocked, the young man glances aside while the leader continues coolly.)**

**Zed:** And, unlike some other races, that one wasn't regenerative. You really should study up, kid. I'm having you reassigned to the archives. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from the files there.

**(The male agent protests.)**

**Male Agent:** But, Zed, you can't...!

**(However, Zed presses a key on a small panel upon his desk. A buzzing sound rises from the desk, interrupting the young man's sentence. Releasing this, Zed spins his chair to face the wall of monitors behind him. In the center, the face of another old agent appears and addresses Zed.)**

**Old Agent:** Sir?

**Zed:** G, I'm reassigning the kid to your section of the archive. Make sure he doesn't drag ass.

**(G scoffs and nods.)**

**G:** I'll keep him busy.

**(The screen winks back its previous display while Zed turns back to his young subordinate, who sighs hard and shakes his head. The chief motions to the door, coldly addressing him.)**

**Zed:** Those files aren't going to sort themselves.

**(With a tight fist, the young agent stands and passes through the nearby door and onto the nearby catwalk. The female agent also rises to follow her fellow, but Zed calls to her.)**

**Zed:** V.

**(She stops and glances back to him as he nods to her and grins slightly.)**

**Zed:** Good work stopping him. Keep it up.

**(V smiles warmly and replies with a salute, but Zed shakes his head and waves her hand aside.)**

**Zed:** This isn't the service. You don't need to salute. Now, report for your next assignment.

**(She blinks with surprise as she lowers her hand.)**

**V:** Sir? I'm going alone?

**(He shakes his head.)**

**Zed:** No, you will have a new partner waiting when you arrive in Antarctica.

**(Her eyes widen with shock at the location's name.)**

**V:** _Antarctica_?!

**(He affirms this calmly and very blandly.)**

**Zed:** Yes, the targets require a stable, subzero climate. Check with requisitions for the appropriate equipment.

**(Uncertain, she accepts this.)**

**V:** Yes, sir.

**(She turns and leaves while Zed leans back in his chair with a heavy sigh. His arms fold behind his head, commenting.)**

**Zed:** Green kids...

**(A beep breaks his relaxation, drawing a sarcastic scoff from his lips. The chief agent sits erect, again tapping a key on his desk. At this, the screens all blank themselves before showing, as one, the image of an MiB agent roughly in his late twenties. His brown hair is combed back while the collar of his suit carries a leaf-like pattern of emerald and gold. Zed smiles warmly at this man and addresses him kindly.)**

**Zed:** Well, R. It's rather early for your monthly report.

**(R nods and accepts this, his attitude grave.)**

**R:** I know, boss, but a situation has arisen.

**(Curious, Zed cocks his head to the side and raises a brow.)**

**Zed:** Really? What's happened there on Jurai?

**R:** At 0000 GST this morning, sector E-255 of the Juraian border with the Galactic Union was breached near the Heliotopis system. Admiral Jurai Soichiro, director of the border station there, immediately declared a Level One Emergency, sending back telemetry from the event to Jurai's high command.

**(The chief considers this, inquiring some details.)**

**Zed:** What caused the breach? Jurai's defensive perimeter was upgraded after the reunion incident.

**(The lowest-right corner monitor blinks to a similar diagram to the one depicted on the Juraian screens during the border incursion. Zed glances at this and narrows his eyes, reading the gages around the image's perimeter.)**

**R:** The initial scans from the border station showed no emanations from this distortion, even when it ripped through their frontier satellites. By all accounts, it shouldn't have existed, though the station's systems did register it as a hostile threat.

**(Zed strokes his beard and questions this.)**

**Zed:** Why is that? If it couldn't detect it, why did it react?

**R:** The station's staff couldn't answer that question with their readings, but the high command did contact the Universal Science Academy's main campus on Todain to track and analyze the anomaly.

**Zed:** And, their findings?

**(The image of the distortion fades as a bar graph replaces it, all bars negligible save one. This solitary bar extends to the top of the graph, where text reads "Last Reliable Reading". This massive reading is labeled "NVO". Surprise fills Zed's aging eyes at this sight while R explains.)**

**R:** There was one single emanation from the distortion that couldn't be attributed to background radiation. The Juraian sensors either hadn't been set for it, or it was so strong that it shorted them out. Even the Science Academy's probe folded trying to measure it, but the reading before then was immense.

**(Zed nods, pondering)**

**Zed:** That's why the Juraian station reacted. It was pure instinct. However, this doesn't explain why this is our concern, R. You may be our liaison with Jurai, but this isn't exactly a Terran problem.

**(The young agent lowers his eyes while the graphs are replaced with a stellar map of the Milky Way Galaxy. A box shrinks from the edges of the screen to one of the outer spirals, the display zooming upon that region of the star cluster. Here, a red dot blinks with a green arrow vector indicating its direction and velocity. Like the Juraian screens, an envelope of prediction extends from the dot, but is very narrow. This extends across the screen to a blue dot, labeled "Earth".)**

**R:** It is a Terran problem, sir. This thing is punching through planetary defenses across the Galactic Union, heading straight for Earth.

**(Zed purses his lips, considering this information while his fellow on Jurai continues.)**

**R:** The Galaxy Police have tried a couple times to ensnare it, with no luck. Their fleet has also tried to destroy it, but their weapons are refracted through the distortion like a lens. They can't touch it.

**Zed:** This has happened before.

**(He raises his eyes to R, knowing and serious.)**

**Zed:** This is just like when the Super-A class criminal Kain first appeared over one hundred years ago. The emperor of Jurai teamed with the GP to trap him in the subspace network back then. Has Jurai decided to act?

**(R shakes his head, a somber tone to his voice.)**

**R:** The anomaly is moving too fast for a Juraian ship to catch it. As such, Emperor Azusa II has decided to stand down from this fight and fortify his empire in case it does a U-turn back to Juraian space.

**(Zed raises a brow, another possibility in mind.)**

**Zed:** What about the dimensional cannon? As I understand from the report of Detective Makibi, Kain was destroyed using one.

**(The younger agent sighs.)**

**R:** I'm sorry, boss, but they've tried that too. Like the rest, it just gets refracted. The attempt nearly destroyed the planet Concor and the GP detachment assigned there.

**(The chief raps his fingers along his desk, his thoughts drifting to the last time he heard of NVO type energy. The image of spiked red hair floats through his mind, coupled with two green eyes filled with brilliance. The aging man raises his question to his subordinate.)**

**Zed:** Has anyone contacted Dr Washu Hakubi yet?

**R:** The Academy has tried, but she's notorious for not answering her comms. The GP are probably briefing their two resident officers as we speak, but both Jurai and they figured that since this threatens the planet, you should be notified as the planetary police force.

**(Zed nods, understanding.)**

**Zed:** Very well. Looks like we'll be sending MiB to Okayama prefecture.

**(R salutes respectfully.)**

**R:** Best of luck, sir.

**(The elder reciprocates this before the display winks back to its usual mixture of agents across the world. He opens a drawer in his desk loaded with several files, each in a scarlet envelope. Thumbing through them, he soon comes to one singular folder, which he removes and sets upon his desk.)**

**(The cover reads "1997: Mecha-Nerti" as he opens the file and examines the contents: images of a metallic woman wielding a scythe, as well as the residents of the Masaki home in Okayama; reports properly typed, each with the byline "Agent J"; medical notes and documents, all signed "Agent L". Zed nods, plans forming within his imagination.)**

Scene 4 – Growing Up

**(Nestled amongst the forested hills of Okayama prefecture, the red-roofed home of the Masaki family rests close to a fair-sized lake. At the center of the lake, a single Juraian tree proudly displays its foliage, strong and hardy. Named Ryu-Oh, it had once been the core of the tree-ship belonging to Princess Ayeka, prior to its crash into the lake.)**

**(The house itself is of a modern design, originally sketched by the owner, Nobuyuki Masaki, Tenchi's father, when he was young. The sloped roof hangs over the door and porch while the afternoon sun shines down upon the windows of its three floors.)**

**(Within one of these windows, a ten-year-old girl glances outside, her attention lost in the forests. Princess Sasami, the blue-haired sister of Ayeka, rests her chin in her hand, her soft pink eyes distant and bored. Her azure hair is tied on either side of her head as lengthy pigtails, trailing down either side of her head.)**

**(She sits on her legs in a proper seiza fashion while her elder sister reads aloud from a textbook in her hand. Both are dressed in elegant kimonos, Ayeka's flowing over her as she steps absently, her focus on the Juraiji written before her.)**

**Ayeka:** ... but this was never enacted until the court of Empress Hinase, the first regal lady to ever rule over Jurai. Many were...

**(Her amethyst gaze blinks and notes Sasami's lacking attention. The violet-tressed princess sighs and lowers the text, entitled _History of the Jurai Empire: 20__th__ Dynasty to Current_. Softly, she addresses her sister.)**

**Ayeka:** Sasami, it is time to study, not daydream.

**(Sasami grimaces and lowers her eyes, apology in her expression.)**

**Sasami:** Sorry, Ayeka...

**(Ayeka kneels at her sister's side while the younger questions her.)**

**Sasami:** I just don't see why I don't go to school like the other kids here.

**(The dark-haired sibling grins to herself and rests a hand on the other's shoulder.)**

**Ayeka:** Because you are a princess of Jurai's royal family, and you need to know our history and customs.

**(Sasami blinks, confused.)**

**Sasami:** But, we don't live on Jurai anymore, Ayeka.

**Ayeka:** One day, you will return home and take your place there as a proper lady.

**(Sasami's ruby eyes meet the amethyst of her elder sister's, her words pointed.)**

**Sasami:** What about you? You've always been a proper lady. Don't you belong there too?

**(Ayeka's gaze droops in distant thought, a tug felt in her heart.)**

**Ayeka:** I have my place, Sasami.

**(She shakes her head and smiles warmly, pushing her emotions aside.)**

**Ayeka:** But, I want to make sure you are ready to take yours when you come of age.

**(Sasami glances to the side, her voice quiet.)**

**Sasami:** But...

**(Her sister's hand rubs her shoulder gently as the elder answers with a reassuring tone.)**

**Ayeka:** You will be a great lady, Sasami. I know that, but you have to study, just like I did when I was your age.

**(A chime rings through the house, the front door's bell. Both sisters glance up at the sound, but Sasami shoots to her feet, excitement in her voice.)**

**Sasami:** I'll get it!

**(She dashes out the door while Ayeka reaches for her.)**

**Ayeka:** Sasami, wait!

**(The elder princess sighs with defeat as she sets the history text aside and walks after her sibling. With Sasami, the boisterous preteen rushes down the stairs when the chime sounds again. She calls down toward the door.)**

**Sasami:** I'm coming!

**(Scampering down the railing, the brown furry creature Ryo-Ohki mews and hops onto Sasami's shoulder, drawing the princess's attention. She smiles and pets the cabbit, issuing a purr from her.)**

**Sasami:** Anyone you know?

**(Soon, the azure-tressed princess reaches the bottom of the stairs and approaches the door. As she opens the portal, her eyes widen at the pair standing behind it. Dressed in black suits with dark sunglasses, the two people stand, man and woman.)**

**(The dark-skinned male, agent J, smirks to himself, the light mustache under his nose wrinkling with his lips. His hair is cut short, close to his scalp, giving him a professional appearance despite his humor. The shoulder-length brown hair of his companion, agent L, curls around her fair face, adding to her a disarming demeanor.)**

**(L addresses the princess first, her words kind and familiar.)**

**L:** Hey there, Sasami.

**(Behind Sasami, Ayeka steps down the stairs, her eyes immediately falling on J and L with a curious confusion. The two agents also exchange a glance with the elder princess while Sasami offers a friendly response.)**

**Sasami:** Hi, L. J.

**(Ayeka halts at her sister's side, spurring the younger sibling to look up to her briefly. J and L both nod to the regal lady, acknowledging her as well.)**

**J:** Princess Ayeka.

**(Her head bows slightly in reciprocation before she raises her question.)**

**Ayeka:** Agents J and L, welcome to Okayama. What brings you this far from home?

**(J scoffs to himself, lightly tapping L's shoulder.)**

**J:** Oh, Laurel here wanted to pay her old patients a house-call.

**(A slight blush comes to his partner's face as she answers.)**

**L:** J!

**(The two princesses wryly grin while L sighs and seriously explains their situation.)**

**L:** Princess Ayeka, we're here to speak with all of you on a particularly grave matter.

**(A worry arises on Ayeka's brow, not to mention Sasami's, as the elder questions this.)**

**Ayeka:** What grave matter? What's happened?

**L:** It would be better if we spoke to all of you together.

**(J nods, his own concern taking priority.)**

**J:** Yeah, especially Washu. Is she around?

**(The violet-haired lady nods.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, she's, no doubt, in her lab.

**L:** We'll have to peel her away from her work then. Mind if we come in?

**(Ayeka steps aside and motions within.)**

**Ayeka:** Certainly.

**(L enters while J glances up toward the rafters.)**

**J:** Where's Tenchi and Ryoko? I'm sure they'll want to know about this too.

**(Ayeka lowers her gaze and answers plainly, drawing a curious eye from her sister.)**

**Ayeka:** Tenchi is with his grandfather at the Masaki shrine, practicing the sword. As for Ryoko, I have not seen her today.

**(J nods and turns to L.)**

**J:** Alright. She'll probably turn up if I get Tenchi and his grandpa.

**(L concurs, understanding.)**

**L:** And, I'll find Washu.

**(Sasami steps forward, addressing J.)**

**Sasami:** You know the way?

**(J grins.)**

**J:** Yeah, I saw the steps on the way in. I'll be back in a few.

**(He turns toward the stone stairs ascending a nearby hill while L removes her shoes and converses with the two princesses. Alone, J scales the hill's staircase, absently listening to the natural sounds of the forest around him. However, a worry weighs on his brow now that he has left the company of the women. He pauses for a moment and folds his arms, considering Zed's orders.)**

**Zed:** J, I need you and L to pay a visit to the Juraian royalty we have over in Japan. They have direct contact to Dr Washu Hakubi, who will be invaluable to our current crisis. Also, their own powers may well be useful as well.

**(While he ponders, the sound of clashing swords catches his ear. He glances to the side and wanders into the growth, quickly finding a well-trodden path near the stairs. Quietly, he continues down the path, soon noting the sparks of crimson and azure smashing against one another. Nearing a clearing, he can more clearly see the scene before him.)**

**(Opposing one another, Tenchi and Ryoko stand with their respective blades at their sides. The young Juraian prince is dressed in the blue combat attire given to him to face Kain, Tenchiken held firmly in his hands. The former Ryoan pirate wears her red and black battle costume from her solo flight through Jurai's perimeter during Kagato's coup d'etat. Her crimson blade extends to her side while she and Tenchi exchange serious gazes, sweat beaded on their brows.)**

**(Surprised and confused, J starts to speak when a hand wraps over his mouth and pulls him down into the bushes away from the clearing. The agent struggles until a soft hiss silences him. He looks to the side and see an older gentleman holding his mouth closed, a pair of wise lavender eyes meeting his. Prince Yosho, better known as Katsuhito Masaki, motions back toward the two younger people in the clearing with a soft word.)**

**Yosho:** Watch.

**(J turns back toward Tenchi and Ryoko as the young prince raises his sword, waves of ionization appearing around the blade. Similarly, his female opponent draws her blade before her with a similar effect occurring around her weapon. Also, a black mark scrawls down the right side of her face.)**

**(Exchanging a slight nod, both launch forward, their feet sliding over the ground as they dart at one another. As they near, Ryoko spins aside, her blade swinging at Tenchi. He plants his feet and turns aside to deflect the swipe. Her feet touch the ground as she throws her sword at the prince.)**

**(Setting himself into a ready posture, Tenchi watches the sword approach and smash into a transparent, spherical shell around him. He then rushes forward toward her while the former pirate disappears from sight. Immediately, he rolls aside when she reappears, hand extended and summoning crimson light to her palm.)**

**(Streams of scarlet burst from the energy gathered in her grasp, aimed at Tenchi's location. He pauses for a moment, letting them near before his legs launch him away from the impact point. The prince raises his left hand toward her, an azure orb of power appearing at his own command.)**

**(This flies at Ryoko, but again, she vanishes and reappears near Tenchi. She swiftly summons her power to her hand, grasping it to create a new ionized blade. He spins toward her, and the two swords meet in a shower of azure and crimson sparks. Yet, Ryoko levers her sword against the violet crest of Tenchi's key, wrenching the weapon from his grasp.)**

**(The azure blade vanishes as the device strikes the soil below them. She draws her sword back while her opposite hand calls forth another projectile. When this flies at him, Tenchi rolls aside to dodge. As he regathers his feet, he extends his hand to the fallen key. The sword hilt shimmers a soft white before it darts from the ground and back into his hand.)**

**(Ryoko teleports to Tenchi's side and swings her sword at him, just as he reforms his own and swings back at her. The two stop their blades at each other's neck, close enough to feel the heat and vibration of the energies flowing through each.)**

**(Further, they halt face to face, eye to eye, the hot and excited breath of each falling on the other. The sweat rolls down down their brows as they calm themselves. However, Ryoko swallows emptily, so close to the object of her affections. She closes her eyes, forcing back the urge to envelope him in her arms.)**

**(Tenchi also grins wryly as he lowers his blade.)**

**Tenchi:** Another stalemate.

**(She also lowers her weapon, a scoff slipping from her lips when his silly grin changes to a warm smile.)**

**Tenchi:** You've improved a lot the past six months, Ryoko.

**(The Ryoan woman smiles and shakes her head, letting her ruby sword and the mark on her face fade away.)**

**Ryoko:** That was the idea, right?

**(The blue sword vanishes before he scratches the back of his head.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, it was.

**(She opens her feline, amber eyes to him again as she compliments him.)**

**Ryoko:** Besides, you've changed a lot too.

**(He nervously laughs nodding.)**

**Tenchi:** Well, I kinda had to if I was going to keep up with you. I mean, you can fly and teleport and...

**(With a longing gaze, she shakes her head and disagrees with a soft voice.)**

**Ryoko:** That's not what I meant, Tenchi.

**(Again, his eyes meet hers in a moment of silence, stillness rising between them. However, a rustle from the bushes attracts their attention away from one another. Tenchi grins and addresses the foliage.)**

**Tenchi:** I know you're there, Grandpa.

**(Ryoko lowers her eyes and settles herself while Yosho stands, dressed in the gi and hakama of a Shinto priest. At his side, J stands as well, raising a curious confusion from the sparring partners. Tenchi questions him.)**

**Tenchi:** Agent J? What're you...?

**(J responds, a gravity in his voice.)**

**J:** I'm here for the three of you. We've got big problems, and hopefully, you're the solution.

Scene 5 – Four Days

**(Within the den of the Masaki home, the residents of the house are seated on the couch facing the windows. Outside, the sun sets behind the hills surrounding the house, shrouding the attendants in a rusty golden hue. Along the couch, the following individuals sit: Yosho, Sasami with Ryo-Ohki in her lap, Ayeka, Tenchi, Ryoko, Washu, and Nobuyuki.)**

**(Nobuyuki Masaki glances nervously across the short table before the couch to the four seated opposite them: J, L, Kiyone and Mihoshi. The two GP officers are dressed in their usual uniforms, though Kiyone also wears a grave expression which mirrors those of J and L. Mihoshi, however, is blatantly distraught, worry written beneath her blonde bangs.)**

**(Tenchi smiles warmly, welcoming the two new guests.)**

**Tenchi:** Thanks for coming on such short notice, Kiyone. You too, Mihoshi.

**(Kiyone nods, forcing a smile of her own.)**

**Kiyone:** It's no problem, Tenchi. I wish it was under better circumstances.

**(Washu folds her arms and crosses her legs, impatiently tapping her finger on her shoulder.)**

**Washu:** So, exactly what is this "grave matter" that required my attention more than my research? I'll have you know that I can only cultivate tempus root once a millennium, and I'm not about to break the space-time continuum again just to get more.

**(Yosho's eyes glance around the table of guests while Ayeka nods and affirms Washu's question.)**

**Ayeka:** Indeed. What is the need for this commotion?

**(Kiyone produces a pinkish control cube from her pockets and rotates a couple of its sides. With the last turn, a projection appears above the device, displaying the anomaly which ravaged its way through the border between the Jurai Empire and the Galactic Union (GU). Next to it, several of the graphs and diagrams shown by Soichiro and Zed appear, depicting the current known data for the distortion. Foremost among these are the massive reading of NVO energy and the maps showing its current position and projected heading, namely Earth.)**

**(Washu's eyes narrow at this data, immediately analyzing it before she materializes her own phantom laptop. While she starts hacking away at the keys, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka all blink in surprise at the dark energy apparently emanating from the structure. Yosho's spectacles gain a bright glare from the setting sun, the remainder of his expression stoic and attentive. Sasami holds Ryo-Ohki close while she listens as well, a sparkle of fear rising in her eyes. Nobuyuki glances at the graphs before directing his attention to the officers and their explanation.)**

**Kiyone:** This morning, this object appeared within Jurai space and tore through the border defenses between the Galactic Union and the Jurai Empire. Since then, it's been continuing steadily on a direct course to Earth.

**(L nods, continuing.)**

**L:** The Galaxy Police have tried to stop it, but even with a dimensional cannon, this entity has been completely unaffected. Every attack has been refracted away by the distortion.

**(J lowers his eyes and adds.)**

**J:** Everyone figures we've got about four days or so before it reaches Earth. Since it's made of this NVO stuff, we figured we'd come to you.

**(He glances to Washu, who continues her interested typing on her translucent keyboard. Ryoko furrows her brow and causticly inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** Well, what about Jurai? NVO's the opposite of their power, right? Why don't they shoot it down?

**(Mihoshi grimaces and shakes her blonde head somberly.)**

**Mihoshi:** It's moving too fast for them to catch it.

**(Ayeka concurs, knowingly.)**

**Ayeka:** Ever since the reunion six months ago, most of the fleet has remained close to Jurai's borders, in case of another such attack. Even our best interceptors cannot cross the galaxy in a matter of days.

**(Tenchi then rests his hand on his thigh and ponders aloud.)**

**Tenchi:** Well, what about us? There's three of us here on Earth with Jurai's power. Can't we do something?

**(Washu's knowledgeable voice rises as she answers Tenchi gravely.)**

**Washu:** Brave notion, Tenchi, but kinda futile.

**(The group turns to the minute genius as she taps a few keys on her laptop and raises her green eyes to the image from Kiyone's cube. The image shrinks slightly while images of the black creature Kain appears nearby. Beneath the depiction of the white-masked destroyer, a similar reading of his emanations is graphed, similar but reduced by comparison to the current distortion.)**

**Washu:** Simply comparing this thing to Kain, you can see that even between Lord Katsuhito, Ayeka, and yourself combined, you fall far short of surpassing it. Jurai and the GP had best be glad this hasn't stopped to fight back.

**(Ryoko scowls as she grips her fists and retorts.)**

**Ryoko:** Then, what are we supposed to do, Washu? Wait for it to come for us?

**(The redhead disagrees, a sarcastic smirk on her face.)**

**Washu:** Of course not, but we need to have some facts in order.

**(Curious, Mihoshi questions.)**

**Mihoshi:** What facts, Washu? We've told you all we know.

**(Washu nods, acknowledging this.)**

**Washu:** True, you have, but there's one thing everyone's overlooked. Just like with Kain, you've been so concerned with where this object is going and what it's going to do.

**(She taps a sequences of keys, and the images of the distortion and Kain are replaced by a star map showing the distortion's travel path and current position. She points toward the map and remarks.)**

**Washu:** So much so that you've missed a key fact.

**(The others follow her finger as the plotted path now extends backward, tracing where the distortion had been prior to the incident at the Jurai border. As it delves into Jurai space, Washu remarks to the surprised expressions of her audience.)**

**Washu:** Where did this phenomenon come from?

**(Soon, the path ends at a planet within the Jurai Empire, the location marked with a large "X". As the Juraiji name is printed below the world, Ryoko blinks in surprise, as do Mihoshi and Kiyone. Yosho lowers his chin, the glare lifting to show his serious gaze. Within Ayeka's thoughts, a venomous chuckle rises unheard to the rest of the attendants, sending a chill down her spine. However, Sasami turns her attention to her sister, suddenly uneasy.)**

**(Tenchi, J, L, and Nobuyuki glance at the name, unfamiliar with it, until the text scrambles and reprints a romanized version of the name: "Ryua". While Nobuyuki remains vaguely confused, J and L recognize it, their eyes roaming to Ryoko and Washu. Tenchi, however, knowingly turns to Washu and considers the fact.)**

**Tenchi:** How did you know?

**(The genius turns to him and explains plainly.)**

**Washu:** I checked the Juraian self-defense network, looking for probes that had recently needed service. Turns out, these all did within the past day, needing their ethereal sensor and power cell replaced.

**(The others direct their attention to her once again while she continues.)**

**Washu:** Though, considering the recent events, I knew you weren't too surprised, Tenchi.

**(Kiyone furrows her brows and inquires.)**

**Kiyone:** Then, you believe that this originated on Ryua?

**Washu:** I do.

**(J then raises his own confusion to the group.)**

**J:** Ryua's one of Jurai's worlds. Why would it send this thing to Earth? What did we do to piss them off?

**(Yosho's calm and wise voice answers this plainly.)**

**Yosho:** Because we've been foiling their efforts.

**(J glances over to him confusedly while Tenchi confirms this with a nod.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, we stopped Illirg and Mecha-Nerti, who Jezibel admitted to sending when we stopped her and the rest of Liaens's group on Jurai. Oniko even said he was a "priest of Ryua and enemy of Jurai".

**(Washu agrees, adding.)**

**Washu:** Exactly. Ryua is a _conquered_ world, defeated in an ancient war with Jurai millennia ago. The Ryoan people haven't exactly forgotten it.

**(L's brow rises with her thought.)**

**L:** But, you and Ryoko are Ryoan. Why are you here with members of the Jurai royal family?

**(Washu scoffs with an amused grin.)**

**Washu:** Like I care about an ancient war? I'm a scientist, not a politician. As long as I get my funding, I couldn't care less if it's from Ryua, Jurai, or someone else.

**(She leers slightly toward Ryoko.)**

**Washu:** Not unlike the pirate guilds, I'd bet.

**(Ryoko glares back while Washu chuckles to herself.)**

**Washu:** Though, I bet Ryoko's reasons are far more obvious than that.

**(Frustrated, Ryoko starts to retort when Kiyone reasserts the original topic.)**

**Kiyone:** We know you and Ryoko are our allies, Washu, but that still leaves the question of why they are acting now.

**(Washu agrees.)**

**Washu:** That's true, and I don't have a certain answer for that, beyond speculation. However, if they set this into motion, they might be able to stop it.

**(J grimaces at this, questioning her suggestion.)**

**J:** Wait. It's already been said that Juraian ships can't get across space in enough time to be of any help, and you want to head back to where this all started?

**(She glares coldly at him with a smoldering comment.)**

**Washu:** Who am I again?

**(At this, Ayeka considers this new option.)**

**Ayeka:** If you can manage this, would it be possible to also go to Jurai and request assistance?

**(Washu smugly nods.)**

**Washu:** Oh, sure. That'll be easy.

**(She then points to Kiyone, who blinks in surprise.)**

**Washu:** However, given the time constraints, I'll be needing a couple spaceships to modify...

**(Her finger then roams over toward J, who narrows his eyes questioningly)**

**Washu:** And, a place to do it.

**(Kiyone grins wryly.)**

**Kiyone:** Does it really have to be my Yagami that gets changed...?

**(The genius eyes her oddly.)**

**Washu:** Unless you know another ship I readily acquire.

**(L's brows perk when she recalls another fact.)**

**L:** There is Mitsuki Matsu's patrol-ship.

**(The two GP officers turn to the MiB agent, curious.)**

**Mihoshi:** Mitsuki's too?

**L:** Yes, she's still liaison between the Men in Black and the Galaxy Police. She was away transferring a prisoner when this first happened. She's scheduled to return tomorrow.

**(Washu nods and continues.)**

**Washu:** Good. I'm sure Zed won't mind me using the MiB's hangar to modify both her ship and Yagami to help save the Earth.

**(However, Nobuyuki places his hand on his knee and thinks aloud, unease in his voice.)**

**Nobuyuki:** But... what if the Ryoan folks can't stop it?

**(Seriously, the minute genius acknowledges this and responds.)**

**Washu:** That's a possibility.

**(She turns to Ayeka and exchanges a small nod with the princess.)**

**Washu:** That's a good reason to send Ayeka to Jurai to get some backup.

**(Yet, the scientist continues.)**

**Washu:** But, if all else fails, I have another plan.

**(She glances to J.)**

**Washu:** Does the MiB have a dimensional cannon at their headquarters?

**(J blinks with confusion at her.)**

**J:** I think so, but the GP's already tried that.

**(She sighs and shakes her head.)**

**Washu:** I'm not proposing just shooting it again. I was going to augment it.

**(Worry develops in Kiyone's eyes as she considers this.)**

**Kiyone:** Washu, a dimensional cannon can already take out a small galaxy. I understood using it against Kain, and again with this phenomenon, but that could be very dangerous, to the entire spatial region here and not just Earth.

**(The scientist accepts this.)**

**Washu:** I know. This idea is a last resort, provided travel to Ryua and Jurai doesn't solve our problem.

**(Tenchi stands, certain.)**

**Tenchi:** Then, we should hurry to Manhattan and get started. We don't exactly have a lot of time.

**(Ryoko watches him, exchanging a knowing gaze with him. Yosho grins to himself, a pride in his eyes. J rises as well, concurring.)**

**J:** That's more like it.

**(Mihoshi and L nod their agreement while Washu turns again to Kiyone and requests.)**

**Washu:** Mind giving us a lift?

**(She sighs and agrees with a hopeful smile.)**

**Kiyone:** No problem.

**(Ayeka, however, watches as the discussion turns toward their departure. She presses one of her hands over her chest, a tension growing within it as she narrates retrospectively.)**

**Ayeka:** So ended the eighth of September, four days before the nightmare began. I should have known then by the laugh in my mind and the torment in my heart what was coming.

**(She then glances distantly to Tenchi and Ryoko speaking with the others.)**

**Ayeka:** But, I blindly attributed them to personal matters, my first mistake.

**(A tug on her sleeve draws her attention to Sasami's worried eyes. The elder princess listens to her sister's worries before answering with a facade of confidence.)**

**Ayeka:** My second was ignoring those issues, both personal and physical.


	2. Act 2

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 2Scene 1 – Mind Games

**(Against the star-studded emptiness of the void, the planets of the Terran solar system revolve around their central star. However, far from the Sun and Earth itself, the gas giant Uranus drifts silently along its orbit. Around it, five moons mimic their parent's pattern by circling the vaporous orb.)**

**(However, one among these is quite distinct from her siblings. Four of the satellites have smooth surfaces, pock-marked with a sprinkling of craters, but the last, Miranda, has a jumbled landscape of jagged cliffs and unpredictable canyons.)**

**(Deep within one of these viciously cut escarpments, an artificial structure stands embedded into the rock and ice. Upon it, the emblem of the Galaxy Police can be vaguely discerned beneath a layer of frost in this vacuum. The building is roughly the size of a small apartment complex, complete with a partial docking ring extending upward to the black sky.)**

**(Down from the stars, a sleek fighter-craft descends, its navy blue exterior gleaming in the distant and meager sunlight. Along the sidewall of the ship, the following is printed in white, block lettering: "Rente Ro, Major", "Caroki". Soon, the vessel enters one of the various ports on the docking ring, passing through a transparent field.)**

**(Within, the fighter nudges against the platform, where a clamp locks around the bow and holds it firmly. Shortly afterward, the canopy of the craft rises slightly and sides back, revealing the two passengers within the cockpit. The pilot stands from his seat, a black trench-coat draped over his shoulders. Upon his face, a black visor conceals his eyes while a white cap covers most of his short brown hair.)**

**(This young man, bounty hunter Will Pii, turns to his companion. Though cloaked in a black cape and cowl, her figure betrays her as female while her escort steps onto the bow and offers his hand to her. Her head raises to gaze up at him, her eyes seen glowing a chaotic emerald in the shadow of the hood. She takes his hand, and he aids her to her feet at his side.)**

**(Pii guides her onto the platform and carefully pushes back the cowl, revealing her elfin ears and long vixen's tail of blonde hair. Nerti Ro, one time student of the Universal Science Academy, closes her eyes and speaks, her words deliberate and careful.)**

**Nerti:** ... Where are we, Will...?

**(Pii glances around the room, noting a fine layer of dust on the surfaces.)**

**Pii:** One of the moons of Sol VII. I think the Terrans call it "Miranda".

**(She grins slightly, a humor edging into her words.)**

**Nerti:** It's a pretty name...

**(He forces a smile as well, nodding.)**

**Pii:** Yeah.

**(Their hands intertwine as he approaches the nearby wall. Here, a small inset denotes a door panel, which opens automatically on their approach. The two walk into a dark corridor, lights suddenly illuminating with their presence. Left with a dull grey color, the walls stretch forward, branching to either side with more passageways.)**

**(Pii glances around, his visor shimmering to life. Within the view, a targeting reticle sweeps over the area while they traverse forward. Nerti winces, gripping his hand. The two pause, his worry spinning back to her immediately. However, she shakes her head, answering.)**

**Nerti:** It's nothing... I'm alright...

**(With a reassuring tone, he replies.)**

**Pii:** Just a little longer, Nerti, and it'll be over.

**(She concurs silently before she requests.)**

**Nerti:** Keep talking to me... It helps me stay here...

**(His chin lowers before he nods and regards the station around them.)**

**Pii:** This old outpost was from when the Galactic Union first ran across this solar system.

**(Holding hands, the two continue down the corridor, the glow in Nerti's eyes waning slightly.)**

**Pii:** This moon's naturally irregular terrain made it easy to conceal a lookout station from the prying eyes of the Terrans on Sol III, Earth.

**Nerti:** Then, why is it abandoned?

**Pii:** Since organizations on Earth started becoming aware of extraterrestrial life, they arranged direct liaisons with the Galaxy Police. This place became unnecessary soon afterward and was forgotten.

**(The two turn a corner while the glow in Nerti's eyes fades to a shimmer, revealing some of their natural grey color. She glances to her companion and questions.)**

**Nerti:** So, you arranged for the rendezvous here?

**(He nods.)**

**Pii:** Yeah, we shouldn't be interrupted here.

**(Worry crosses her eyes as she inquires.)**

**Nerti:** Do you think they can remove her?

**(A gravity weighs in his voice as he responds.)**

**Pii:** We'll see.

**(Soon, they approach a junction with another hallway where the lights fail to activate on their motion. Nerti's brows furrow at this while Pii glances from side to side, searching for motion. He then finds an action, a figure walking through the shadows. He calls out to the figure while the reticle in his visor settles on the other person.)**

**Pii:** Guru?

**(The figure answers, a male voice to match the outline as the hunter's visor distinctly outlines the silhouette with a red tracing.)**

**Man:** In a sense.

**(Pii curls his lip distastefully, the voice unfamiliar.)**

**Pii:** You're not Guru Talnam. Where is he?

**(The man steps into the light, his blonde hair tied behind his head. His blue, feline eyes narrow coldly behind his glasses on the pair while his elfin ears perk slightly at Pii's slight step between this man and Nerti. He pulls his hands from his dark coat, simple and refined like those of various religious orders. Gripping his fingers, his knuckles crack while his words explain.)**

**Man:** Indisposed. However, I too can handle the task of removing the Kimitan woman's consciousness from your lady-friend's mind.

**(He extends his hand to them, palm up in a offering gesture.)**

**Man:** My name is Ryunoken Hotsuma, and my priesthood has the knowledge to separate them.

**(The hunter waves the priest aside and rejects this offer.)**

**Pii:** Sorry. I'm not interested in a deal with a Ryoan priest.

**(A sly grin crosses the priest's lips as he responds.)**

**Hotsuma:** You may not be, but what about her?

**(Nerti shakes her head, the eerie green glow rising in her eyes again.)**

**Nerti:** No... I'm not...

**(She stops in mid-sentence when she cringes, a tide of disorientation consuming her head. Pii spins to her as she balances on him, a hand placed against her forehead. The hunter calls to her while Hotsuma lowers his hand and eyes them distantly and patiently.)**

**Hotsuma:** I wasn't referring to you, Nerti Ro.

**(Nerti then pushes Pii away and stands strong, her eyes burning a brilliant emerald. A twisted smirk crosses her face while she glares at the Terran hunter. As she speaks, her voice blends with another female tonality, one far more venomous.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** He meant me.

**(Pii gnashes his teeth while Nerti keeps her cold, controlled eyes on him. Without turning her head, she addresses Hotsuma.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** Did you come prepared, Hotsuma?

**(He nods, reaching into his coat. From it, he draws a metallic headband with several green crystals installed along its circumference, much like gems in a crown. Also, a golden weave is inset within the band, glistening with a stored energy. The Ryoan priest questions her in return.)**

**Hotsuma:** Have you brought our Lady's keys?

**(Nerti agrees.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** Just as we bargained. They are aboard his ship.

**(Confused and angry, Pii inquires.)**

**Pii:** Bargained? When did this happen?

**(She smirks and laughs to herself, humored at his questions.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** You have to sleep some time, boy, as does her fragile mind.

**(The hunter's fist grips at his side while the Ryoan steps to her side quietly. She continues, pleased.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** Of course, I was privy to your beloved's thoughts and knew of your deal with Talnam so I made arrangements of my own.

**(Hotsuma rests a hand on her shoulder and reminds her.)**

**Hotsuma:** We should go soon, Lady Jezibel. Our Lady has plans for you and your present form.

**(A control grip clacks into Pii's right hand while a weapon's barrel extends over his hand. He swings this toward Hotsuma while the targeting reticle in the Terran's visor centers on the Ryoan priest. Hotsuma raises his chin slightly, eying the weapon while Nerti narrows her gaze, irritated. Hotly, Pii demands.)**

**Pii:** There won't be any plans. If you want Jezibel, take her out of Nerti and leave, but Nerti stays _here_.

**(Hotsuma shakes his head, his answer calm.)**

**Hotsuma:** Unfortunately, that's not possible. Her mission was to deliver this body to us, matured and prepared.

**(A charging hum rises from the weapon on Pii's arm while its owner decidedly disagrees.)**

**Pii:** Not happening.

**(Nerti steps forward, extending her arm to her side. From the sleeve of the cloak, a metal grip slides into her hand. Taking this in her hand, the small device extends into a full pole before a blade arcs out from one of the two ends. This scythe bears a dulled inscription on the flat of its blade, too scratched to be easily read.)**

**(Pii turns his attention to her, a weight hanging within his gut. She rotates the scythe at her side slowly, her shining emerald eyes coldly glaring at him.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** How I tire of your romantic bravado. It was useful to keep both me and the girl safe until now, but that purpose has ended.

**(She halts the weapon in her grasp with her last line.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** And, it sickens me.

**(The blonde rushes toward Pii, her blade drawn back to strike. Around her, the cloak flaps open, revealing the white armor and red bodysuit beneath. Pii slides back, the left sleeve of his coat automatically rolling up to show the red armor and blue bodysuit he has concealed. This gauntlet's plating opens and fans into a buckler, which is raised to clash against Nerti's scythe.)**

**(However, the blunt end of the pole swings at his head, forcing the hunter to block with his free arm. The impact against his weaponized gauntlet smashes the device, sending sparks flying from the damaged system. Quickly, Nerti swipes the blade of her scythe along his left knee, cutting between the armor plates and deeply into his joint.)**

**(He collapses, the joint unable to support his weight any longer. Instinctively, he reaches for the injury, but his attention soon draws back to his assailant above him. She draws her blade back again to strike while she speaks coldly.)**

**Nerti-Jezibel:** Now, I'll be free of you both.

**(Then, a golden spark flickers amongst the green glow of Nerti's eyes. She cringes, baring her teeth as she steps back and drops the scythe to the side. Hotsuma furrows his brows, confused while the two voices within Nerti argue.)**

**Nerti:** Stop this!

**Jezibel:** Be silent, child!

**Nerti:** I won't let you harm him anymore!

**Jezibel:** I said "_be silent_"!

**(She glances to Hotsuma, the gold and emerald lights battling in her gaze.)**

**Jezibel:** Hotsuma...!

**(He comes to her side with the crystal crown. However, she grabs his lapel, her glare hatefully centered on his blue eyes.)**

**Nerti:** Get her out of me!

**(She cringes, the other voice speaking.)**

**Jezibel:** She's starting to realize her inheritance!

**(He places the crown upon her brow, causing the gems to shine and resonate a vile green. She throws back her head with a scream, pushing the priest away. The young woman holds her temples while sinking to her knees. Around the crown's band, green sparks arc between the metal and her skin, the glow in the crystals brightening. Gradually, the light in Nerti's eyes fades away, leaving them her natural grey color as her consciousness fades.)**

**(Hotsuma gathers himself and watches Nerti's form slip down to the ground. However, upon impact with the metal floor, one of the crystals cracks and issues a single spark back to Nerti's head. The priest quickly rushes to her side and removes the crown. He notes the broken gem, touching it lightly.)**

**(A projectile flies before his eyes and embeds into the far wall. Hotsuma turns back to see Pii holding himself up with a weapon barrel extended beneath his buckler at the priest. However, a small pool of blood has begun to gather beneath the wound in his knee. The Ryoan narrows his eyes while the hunter motions away from the lady.)**

**Pii:** Back up.

**(The priest complies, standing and stepping away calmly. Softly, he comments.)**

**Hotsuma:** You will soon bleed out.

**(Pii shakes his head.)**

**Pii:** There's a reason I picked this place for the rendezvous.

**(The projectile then explodes, leaving a jagged hole in the opposite wall. At this, sirens and alarms spring to life across the GP station, bringing a smirk to Pii's lips.)**

**Pii:** The GP are nothing if not _reactionary_.

**(The Ryoan sighs with a small grin.)**

**Hotsuma:** Unfortunately, I believe the Galaxy Police are far too busy elsewhere. You will be long dead before they arrive.

**(A female voice calls over the speaker system of the station, bringing relief to Pii's expression and surprise to Hotsuma's.)**

**Woman:** This is liaison officer Matsu Mitsuki. Occupants of the station, remain where you are and prepare to be boarded.

**(The priest narrows his eyes coldly while he comments.)**

**Hotsuma:** Fate has favored you today, Will Pii. However, this is momentary. Your days are numbered few, much like those of Earth itself.

**(Quizzical, Pii questions him.)**

**Pii:** What do you mean?

**(However, Hotsuma fades away, teleported to another location. Pii lowers his weapon, his attention turning to Nerti's motionless form nearby. He sighs hard, feeling the life ebb from his wound, which draws his gaze away from her. While footsteps can be heard approaching from the corridor, he misses the slight spark of green between Nerti's closed eyes.)**

Scene 2 – Proposals

**(Over an empty field in the farmland outside New York City, a scarlet spaceship descends. The long hull extends from a bank of engines near the rear, a common design for vessels in service to the Galaxy Police. This particular craft is the patrol-ship Yagami, piloted by Kiyone Makibi and Mihoshi Kuramitsu.)**

**(Beneath Yagami, the pasture splits apart, the ground lifting slightly and sliding aside behind this facade of earth, a well-maintained and manned hangar awaits its new arrival. Shortly after the machine passes beneath the level of the doors, they close behind, restoring the false appearance of normal, rural land.)**

**(Within this hangar, the black-suited staff turn their collective attention to the vehicle as it locks into position alongside other such craft. In particular, one young man approaches Yagami, his blonde hair cut in a regulation crew cut. His hazel eyes focus attentively on the side hatch, where a gantry extends from the dock to the ship.)**

**(The iris-like hatch retracts its segments, much like a flower opening, to reveal its occupants standing ready to exit. Leading the group, J and L exit first, closely followed by Kiyone and Mihoshi. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka succeed them across the gantry with Sasami and Washu near at hand. Ryo-Ohki glances around from her perch atop the younger princess's shoulder, remembering the location from their previous visit.)**

**(Yosho slowly advances while Nobuyuki steps out curiously. He looks around the room, some surprise in his face. The legendary warrior glances back to his son-in-law and comments briefly.)**

**Yosho:** What's wrong, Nobuyuki? You've been in a spaceport before.

**(The architect grins wryly and scratches the back of his head.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, but I wouldn't have expected one here on Earth yet.

**(Yosho grins slightly.)**

**Yosho:** There's a lot that's been kept secret here. I'm sure.

**(The younger man nods, his eyes peering at the staff, and continues forward, the two of them joining the rest of their household. The blonde-haired man approaches J and L, addressing them with a stiff tone.)**

**Blonde:** Agents J and L?

**(The two turn their attention to him.)**

**L:** Yes?

**J:** What is it?

**Blonde:** I need you and your guests to come with me.

**(J narrows his eyes at the younger agent's inflection while the rest of their party turn their attention to the young agent.)**

**J:** What for? We're in a hurry here.

**(Irritated at the question, this man sighs and scowls slightly.)**

**Blonde:** Zed is expecting you. Come with me.

**(J folds his arms.)**

**J:** Well, why didn't you say that up front?

**Blonde:** I shouldn't need to. This is an order from above.

**(J starts to retort when L steps between the men and addresses them both.)**

**L:** You two can have your pissing contest after we save the world.

**(The two glance to her while she glares in return.)**

**L:** Alright?

**(J sighs and nods while the other man simply turns toward a nearby door and coldly replies.)**

**Blonde:** If you'll follow me.

**(L sighs and shakes her head, commenting under her breath.)**

**L:** Men...

**(A hand rests on her shoulder, drawing her attention back to Kiyone's understanding blue eyes. The teal-haired officer grins while Mihoshi also concurs silently. L smirks with a scoff as she and the two GP representatives follow the blonde man. He approaches the door, which slides aside and allows him and those behind him to pass.)**

**(J advances through the doorway as well, the residents of the Masaki household trailing after him. Washu shakes her head and remarks while the large troupe walk through the brightly lit halls of the MiB headquarters.)**

**Washu:** The MiB could definitely do with some policy updates.

**(Ryoko scoffs and regards Washu sarcastically.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, you'd be just the one for that.

**(Washu grins proudly and adds.)**

**Washu:** Of course. Who do you think wrote the current working policies of the Science Academy?

**(The former pirate eyes the minute researcher oddly, as do Tenchi and Ayeka. However, L explains.)**

**L:** It's not so much a policy issue. Lately, many of the older agents have been...

**(She pauses, choosing her word carefully.)**

**L:** retiring. We've had an influx of younger personnel that haven't had time to acclimate.

**(Washu nods.)**

**Washu:** Changing the guard?

**(L agrees while Nobuyuki blinks, curious.)**

**Nobuyuki:** How exactly does someone "retire" from this? I mean, after all I've seen, I can't really see the world exactly the same way anymore.

**(L glances to J for a moment, who closes his eyes solemnly. The lady agent takes a breath and answers, her voice cold and detached.)**

**L:** They are neuralized, their memories of their time with us erased.

**(The architect widens his eyes at this notion while the former mortician concludes.)**

**L:** It's the same with victims and bystanders from the incidents we investigate, all to keep extraterrestrials secret from the public.

**(Tenchi lowers his eyes at this fact while Nobuyuki inquires further.)**

**Nobuyuki:** So... when this is over...?

**(L smiles and shakes her head.)**

**L:** Don't worry, Mr Masaki. After all, you're Juraian royalty by marriage. That makes you exempt from that rule.

**(A relieved smile crosses his lips as he comments.)**

**Nobuyuki:** That's good to know.

**(Tenchi glances to his father for a moment, recalling him as a young man. The son remembers racing up the stairs of the Tokyo Tower with a teenage Nobuyuki close behind. Dressed in his black school uniform, the teenager carried a girl of comparable age on his back, her silken black hair flowing in a ponytail behind her. Achika Masaki, Tenchi's mother, clung to her future husband's back, sensing the dark presence chasing them, named Kain.)**

**(Here in the MiB hallway, Tenchi turns back to face forward as he comments regretfully in his thoughts.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah... good to know...

**(Soon, the group reaches a door where a key panel is affixed to the wall nearby. The blonde agent taps a sequence of keys, causing the door to slide aside and reveal the room within. Here, Zed sits at the head of a long table, carved from a white marble. Two stylized transceivers are placed on either end of the table, black in color.)**

**(The young agent motions inward, remaining outside the chamber. Kiyone, Mihoshi, and L enter while J takes a moment to exchange an unfavorable glare with the upstart agent. However, he soon enters, followed by the remainder of the Masaki household.)**

**(Zed stands and greets his guests as they gather around the table.)**

**Zed:** Good of you all to come on such short notice.

**(He comes to Washu and extends his hand to her.)**

**Zed:** Dr Hakubi, you're a hard person to reach.

**(She grins playfully and shakes his hand, her green eyes meeting his thoughtfully.)**

**Washu:** Makes it easier for me to get work done.

**(The chief agent then turns to Yosho and bows to him respectfully.)**

**Zed:** Lord Jurai Yosho.

**(Yosho reciprocates this humbly while Zed continues.)**

**Zed:** I've heard a lot about you. It's an honor to meet the legend.

**(The grandfather grins and replies.)**

**Yosho:** Then, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

**(The mature agent blinks quizzically at this before he accepts that comment nonchalantly.)**

**Zed:** Okay.

**(He then regards the blonde agent outside.)**

**Zed:** That'll be all, K.

**(Surprised and confused, J spins toward Zed and the young agent while the youth inquires.)**

**K':** Any other orders, sir?

**(The chief grimaces and shakes his head.)**

**Zed:** No, kid. Just relax. Get some rest.

**(The agent salutes and spins away while the door seals behind him. J questions his employer.)**

**J:** "K"? Did I hear you right?

**(Zed nods.)**

**Zed:** You did, J. Kevin would be proud. That kid was the top of his class from Westpoint.

**(With a scowl, the native New Yorker rebukes this.)**

**J:** That _kid_ isn't "K". K wasn't a stiff-necked jackass!

**(Calmly, Zed steps back toward the head of the table, commenting.)**

**Zed:** He's a good kid, J, with a lot of potential, like you were.

**(Before J can speak again, L grabs his shoulder and his attention. She slowly shakes her head, stopping his, no doubt, choice words. Zed then motions toward the table as he seats himself.)**

**Zed:** Have a seat, everyone.

**(The group seat themselves around the table: Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Sasami, and Ayeka down Zed's right and J, L, Yosho, Tenchi, Ryoko, and Nobuyuki to his left. Near Zed's hand, a panel slides aside, unveiling a keypad. With the touch of a key, Zed dims the lights as a light shines down from the center of the ceiling. The light coalesces into an image of the distortion headed toward Earth, spherical and flaming with the black energies of NVO type. Clearly, Zed states his facts.)**

**Zed:** As you all know, this distortion was sighted breaking through the Galactic Union's border with the Jurai Empire hours ago. Since then, it's plowed through borders and space-ways on a direct course for this solar system, no doubt, for this planet.

**(The chief agent turns to Washu and regards her directly.)**

**Zed:** Any ideas on stopping it, Dr Hakubi?

**(The genius grins as she cracks her fingers.)**

**Washu:** I have a few, but I'll be needing your facilities, Zed.

**(He blinks, confused.)**

**Zed:** Our facilities? You have your own laboratory if I recall.

**(She nods placing her hands before her as her phantom laptop appears. With a few keystrokes, the image of the distortion ripples away, replaced with a schematic diagram of Yagami. Kiyone sharply pays attention while Washu answers Zed.)**

**Washu:** I do have my own lab, but what I need for this is your docking bay. I propose we alter the patrol-ships of Kiyone and your own liaison Mitsuki for two off-world missions.

**(In the diagram, two tube-like components appear and attach to the sides of Yagami's hull while Washu explains.)**

**Washu:** I've been toying with a new space-fold method. With these, Yagami could cross the distance from Earth to Jurai in a day or less.

**(Ryoko nods, adding.)**

**Ryoko:** Ryua's just about as far.

**(The scientist acknowledges this.)**

**Washu:** Exactly.

**Zed:** To what end, exactly?

**(The researcher types a few more commands, causing the image to blur and be replaced with the image of a planet colored grey and blue, labeled "Ryua". The genius turns back to Zed and continues.)**

**Washu:** To try and get those who started that thing to turn it off.

**(The chief agent directs his attention to the diagram as a dashed path traces to a point on the alien globe's southern hemisphere. Here, a scarlet "X" is placed.)**

**Washu:** I traced the path of destruction left by the distortion to this location on Ryua. I have little doubt that this all started there. Ordinarily, I'd just build new ships myself, but with the time constraint, I plan to use your hangar to modify their ships for this purpose.

**(Understanding, Zed nods and inquires further.)**

**Zed:** And Jurai?

**(Ayeka now speaks her concern.)**

**Ayeka:** There is a possibility that those on Ryua cannot undo what they have set in motion.

**(The Terran official listens to the Juraian princess and her plot.)**

**Ayeka:** In that case, since this distortion is composed of NVO type energy, a Juraian force would be most effective against the phenomenon. I plan to ask the emperor to send aid back with the party sent to Jurai.

**Zed:** Do you believe he will? In his place, I would be fortifying my position for if it turned back.

**(Ayeka closes her eyes and nods knowingly.)**

**Ayeka:** That is true, but I believe it would be best to destroy, or at least weaken, this entity here on Earth. I hope to convince the emperor of this myself.

**(Sasami chimes into the conversation, her own worry seen.)**

**Sasami:** So will I. We'll get him to help us.

**(The elder princess regards her sister for a moment, noting the determination in her sibling's eyes. With a thoughtful and proud smile, Ayeka concedes.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, I believe we could, Sasami.

**(She then turns to Yosho and questions him.)**

**Ayeka:** However, Grandfather, I would appreciate if you could join us. Your wise words may help to sway him.

**(He considers the princess's plea before he accepts this appointment.)**

**Yosho:** Certainly.

**(The elder princess then turns to Tenchi across the table and asks him as well.)**

**Ayeka:** Tenchi, you are also well-known to the emperor. I'm sure that between the four of us, he would have to send us assistance.

**(At this, the young prince lowers his eyes and considers the idea.)**

**Tenchi:** I don't know, Ayeka. I might, but what about Ryua, or here on Earth? We can't just have everyone goto Jurai.

**(Ayeka blinks, part of her disappointed, even though she can understand his point.)**

**Ayeka:** ... That is true...

**(Ryoko raises her voice.)**

**Ryoko:** I'll be heading to Ryua. I know the area fairly well and have some old contacts who could help us.

**(She glances to Ryo-Ohki who mews with a nod of her little head.)**

**Ryoko:** Ryo-Ohki will be going with me. We might need a fast getaway if things get too hairy on the surface.

**(With an exasperated sigh, she then regards Washu.)**

**Ryoko:** As much as I hate to admit it, I need you too, Washu.

**(Grinning proudly, the genius nods.)**

**Washu:** Of course. Who else is going to figure out the Ryoan systems and turn the distortion?

**(Ryoko sighs again at the scientist's pomposity before she too regards Tenchi at her side.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi, this could be dangerous, but I think we could fight our way to the one behind this and stop it there.

**(Again, the young prince lowers his eyes, feeling weight on his shoulders from the gazes of Ryoko and Ayeka both. Conflicted, he replies.)**

**Tenchi:** I'm not sure about that, Ryoko. We could get answers there, I'm sure, but what if they can't stop it?

**(Much like Ayeka, Ryoko's eyes betray a mix of disappointment and understanding when Zed clears his throat and interjects.)**

**Zed:** This is all well and good.

**(The attendees turn to him.)**

**Zed:** However, this is a Terran problem, and we will have our part in this as well.

**(To J, he edicts his order.)**

**Zed:** J, you should join Ryoko and Dr Hakubi on Ryua.

**(J blinks confusedly before he point at himself and blurts out.)**

**J:** Me?!

**(Calmly, Zed responds.)**

**Zed:** Between you and L, you are better at improvisation and handling a gun. You'll need both on that world.

**(To L, he also gives the following command.)**

**Zed:** Now, L, you are better at diplomacy and persuasion. I believe you could help the princess on Jurai.

**(The lady agent shakes her head, unsure.)**

**L:** Zed, I'm not...

**(He scoffs and shakes his head.)**

**Zed:** Considering your performance over the past year, and in that hallway just now, I think you'll be fine on Jurai.

**(She blinks in surprise while he grins and adds.)**

**Zed:** You think I don't know what happens around here?

**(L then blushes some while Zed's knowing gaze pierces her eyes. However, Kiyone speaks, rejoining the conversation.)**

**Kiyone:** Be that as it may, I also see Tenchi's point. We can't just split our forces between Ryua and Jurai. Some need to stay here.

**(Nobuyuki grins wryly and remarks.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I think I'll stay for sure.

**(Tenchi smiles, a bit of sweat beading on his brow while a chuckle rises from Yosho's lips.)**

**Tenchi:** Sounds good to me, Dad.

**(Zed agrees.)**

**Zed:** I'll also spread the word to my agents and prepare here while you're away. We'll be ready to strike if this plan fails.

**(Washu nods and adds her thoughts.)**

**Washu:** Yeah, about that. I had another thought, provided we can't stop this distortion on Ryua.

**(Zed glances to her as she rocks her head to the side, humored.)**

**Washu:** You have a dimensional cannon here. Don't you, Zed?

**(Eying the genius oddly, the chief agent affirms this.)**

**Zed:** I do. Why?

**Washu:** I have some plans for it.

**Zed:** What exactly? The GP has already tried to use it against the distortion.

**(The scientist nods as she types commands into her laptop idly.)**

**Washu:** Indeed, they did. However, they didn't do what I'm planning.

**(The holographic image of Ryua fades and is replaced by an image of a dimensional cannon. Roughly the size of a bus, this device raises its primary barrel, which splits into a massive fork, much like a rail accelerator. However, the schematic here splits while labels direct attention to internal alterations within its design. The MiB and GP operatives narrow their eyes at this while the genius continues.)**

**Washu:** When Kain was originally captured, it was through a blending of the subspace network and the energy from the Jurai emperor. However, after him, no one has been able to summon that kind of power again. As such, I devised a way to artificially mimic the Jurai energy via the five Fudo temples in Japan.

**(Nobuyuki narrows his eyes listening.)**

**Washu:** This, indeed, worked flawlessly to capture Kain when he came to Earth, but due to some...

**(She pauses for a moment, glancing back briefly to the architect.)**

**Washu:** ... complications, we had to improvise. I still have the psy-link equipment we used to imprison Kain, and I plan to augment your dimensional cannon with it.

**(Ayeka and Yosho both raise their brows in surprise at this suggestion while Kiyone furrows hers with concern.)**

**Kiyone:** You can't be serious, Washu!

**(She turns to the GP detective and confirms this.)**

**Washu:** I am. I propose a dimensionally-mounted Jurai cannon, capable of firing a direct pulse of focused pseudo-Jurai energy into the distortion.

**(Zed considers this while Ayeka voices her worries.)**

**Ayeka:** Ms Washu, a weapon like that... can't exist! Jurai's power is the life of our world! It shouldn't be used this way!

**(Washu regards the princess coolly.)**

**Washu:** We have to consider our opponent. The telemetry from the satellites that the distortion passed have readings of NVO energy far surpassing that of Kain. We need something comparable to disable or destroy it, provided our other efforts fail.

**(Zed concurs.)**

**Zed:** Agreed. Do it, Dr Hakubi.

**(The violet-haired princess shakes her head slowly, worried.)**

**Ayeka:** This isn't right.

**(Zed comments knowingly.)**

**Zed:** They said the same about the atomic bomb back during World War II.

**(With a gleam in his glasses, Yosho regards Zed, who also raises his aged eyes to meet the experienced Juraian.)**

**Yosho:** Yes, they did.

**(Ryoko turns to Tenchi once again, pressing her question.)**

**Ryoko:** That still leaves you, Tenchi. What are you going to do?

**(Ayeka also raises her gaze to him, weighing the decision between them upon him. He glances between the two young women, considering how he should answer when a small alarm rises from one of the transceivers on the table. Zed presses a key on the device and speaks.)**

**Zed:** I'm in an important meeting.

**(A voice answers from the transceiver, grave.)**

**Voice:** I know, sir. However, Mitsuki has returned, and she has wounded with her.

**(The group turn toward him at the word "wounded" while the chief furrows his brow.)**

**Zed:** Wounded? Who?

**Voice:** It's the hunter you've been looking for, Will Pii and his companion, Nerti Ro.

**(Recognition wipes over the faces of the attendees, particularly Tenchi and Ryoko's. The young prince rises from his seat and spins toward the door.)**

Scene 3 – Matsu Mitsuki

**(Concern written on his face, Tenchi rushes through the corridors of the MiB headquarters. Close at hand are Ryoko and Ayeka, whose worry focuses on the object of their affections. Sasami follows at her sister's side, attentively listening to the conversation of the others. Kiyone and Mihoshi also move with the group, their own thoughts on the coincidence of this situation.)**

**Kiyone:** So, this is the same bounty hunter that was involved with Mecha-Nerti here in Manhattan?

**(Ayeka nods.)**

**Ayeka:** I would believe so, as well as the reunion incident on Jurai. However, he was seriously wounded in battle with Liaens.

**(She glances to Tenchi who confirms this somberly.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, but he and Nerti vanished from the Liaens's ship before it fell toward Jurai.

**Mihoshi:** Then, what are they doing here near Earth? There aren't a lot of bounties in this area.

**(Thoughtfully, Kiyone replies to her partner's inquiry.)**

**Kiyone:** I doubt that's the reason. They've both been involved in incidents dealing with the NVO energy. It's possible that this has to do with the distortion.

**(Ryoko narrows her eyes, adding.)**

**Ryoko:** Maybe, but I do know that Nerti was under Jezibel's control, even after the green-eyed bitch was dead. If she still is, she's a serious threat to all of us.

**(The young prince closes his eyes for a moment, considering this possibility.)**

**Tenchi:** Let's hope not.

**(Soon, this sextet reaches a door, which slides aside to reveal the hangar. Here, Yagami rests quietly while another GP patrol-ship, grey in color, has since docked at its side. Near the gantry to the iris-like portal, MiB agents wait with a pair of gurneys ready for their patients. The metal blades of the entrance glide along one another, allowing these men entry into the ship.)**

**(Tenchi and the others approach the vessel as the agents then exit, the gurneys now bearing the unconscious forms of Will Pii and Nerti Ro. Tenchi and Ryoko watch silently, Tenchi's eyes set on Pii while Ryoko's on Nerti. In particular, Pii's right knee is heavily bandaged, the bindings soaked crimson.)**

**(However, a chill rushes through Ayeka as her amethyst gaze falls upon Nerti. Absently, she holds her arms, an unease flowing over her. Sasami also glances to Nerti, but her eyes quickly return to her sister with a worry.)**

**(Kiyone and Mihoshi turn back to the ship to see a female GP officer step out from the portal. She rests her mechanical left hand on her hip while her organic right pushes some of her scarlet hair from her face. Across the left side of her face, various scars tell of a difficult time in her life. Mitsuki Matsu, current GP liaison officer with the MiB, directs her brown eyes to her two colleagues.)**

**(The blonde officer's face brightens at the sight of her old classmate while the teal-tressed detective meets her friend's knowing gaze. Sarcastically, Mitsuki addresses them as they advance toward her.)**

**Mitsuki:** Glad to see you two haven't been left out of this.

**(Kiyone shakes her head as the GP trio gathers.)**

**Kiyone:** No such luck. How did you come across those two?

**(In moments, Pii and Nerti are wheeled away. Exchanging a glance, Tenchi and Ryoko soon join the Galaxy Police representatives, though Ayeka's gaze lingers after the unconscious blonde woman. Thoughtful, Mitsuki replies to the question.)**

**Mitsuki:** I found them in the old monitoring station the GP left on Miranda, one of the moons of Uranus.

**(A tug on the elder princess's kimono draws her attention back to her younger sister and her worried eyes. Kiyone's confused words inquire further.)**

**Kiyone:** That station had been abandoned since long before Mihoshi and I came here. What were they doing there?

**(Ayeka shakes her head and motions Sasami toward the others. Reluctantly, the azure-haired girl concedes while Mitsuki answers.)**

**Mitsuki:** I'm not sure. Only Pii was conscious when I arrived, but with that leg wound, he passed out from blood loss pretty quickly.

**(As Ayeka and Sasami join the others, Tenchi interjects his own query.)**

**Tenchi:** How'd he get injured?

**Mitsuki:** He said something about a Ryoan priest being there, but I didn't find any evidence of that.

**(At the words "Ryoan priest", Ryoko scowls, recalling Oniko's involvement with Liaens.)**

**Mitsuki:** However, I did find a bloody scythe there near where Nerti lay, along with some strange, green crystal shards. There were also lots of cluttered footprints in the dust and a blown bulkhead, all signs of a struggle. I'm guessing she probably sliced him herself.

**(A worry ushers into Tenchi's eyes at this information while Mihoshi speaks.)**

**Mihoshi:** Did you find anything else there?

**Mitsuki:** Only his ship. I loaded it aboard after I was sure both of them were stable.

**Kiyone:** Could we see it? We have reason to believe this may tie in with the current crisis.

**(Mitsuki narrows her eyes questioningly.)**

**Mitsuki:** How do you figure, Kiyone?

**Kiyone:** Pii and Nerti both were involved with the assault here in Manhattan fourteen months ago, as well as the incident on Jurai during the reunion six months ago.

**(The redhead considers this as her colleague adds.)**

**Kiyone:** Mecha-Nerti was sent by Liaens. Nerti was controlled by one of his followers.

**(The blonde officer nods and complements her partner's information.)**

**Mihoshi:** That's right. They also had a Ryoan priest who claimed to be an "enemy of Jurai". Both Mecha-Nerti and the so-called "Aelins reactor" used during the reunion incident were powered by the NVO energy, Kain's power.

**(At "Kain's power", Mitsuki's brow furrows with surprise and a twinge of hate. Kiyone nods slowly, affirming this reaction.)**

**Kiyone:** You've been told about the distortion heading here. Washu has tracked its point of origin back to Ryua. This is all tied together.

**(The scarred officer's technological hand grips tightly at her side with her question.)**

**Mitsuki:** Has she?

**(With a grave nod, Kiyone confirms this.)**

**Kiyone:** She has. We're currently organizing two expeditions, one to get assistance from Jurai and the other to try and stop the distortion from on Ryua.

**Mihoshi:** We were hoping you could help us. You're the only other GP ship nearby.

**(Confusion wipes over Mitsuki's brow at this proposal.)**

**Mitsuki:** Wait. Ryua and Jurai? How?

**Kiyone:** Washu can upgrade our ships to reach either destination in under a day.

**(Certain, the redhead responds.)**

**Mitsuki:** I see. Then, I'll definitely help. I'll join the group heading to Ryua.

**(Ryoko narrows her eyes and interjects.)**

**Ryoko:** Wait a sec. _I'm_ the one sorting out the Ryua group. Why the hell should you go?

**(Coldly, Mitsuki raises her metal hand and replies.)**

**Mitsuki:** This is why, Ryoko. I was in the Galaxy Police headquarters when Kain broke free. I lost a good man to Kain, Special Operative Abe Hayato, code-named "A".

**(The two meet gazes while Mitsuki names her adamant terms.)**

**Mitsuki:** And, this is my ship. Wherever it goes, I go. It's a package deal.

**(Ryoko's golden eyes glisten as she comments.)**

**Ryoko:** This is going to be a simple in-and-out job: find the control system, shut it down, and get out. I don't need a pissed off GP officer trying to be a hero.

**(The redhead nods, insistent.)**

**Mitsuki:** And, you won't. I'm in this to shut the distortion down. If getting you to Ryua does that, I'll get you there.

**(The former pirate eyes the determined officer carefully when Kiyone chimes her approval.)**

**Kiyone:** I believe her, Ryoko.

**(Both turn to the teal-tressed detective as she exchanges a glance with her colleague.)**

**Kiyone:** I'm sure she'll help you without any trouble.

**(Mitsuki smiles softly, thankfully. Kiyone then turns to Ayeka and asks the princess.)**

**Kiyone:** If you don't mind, Ayeka, I'll pilot Yagami to Jurai. Since I was involved in stopping the coup and defeating Kain, I might be of some help there.

**(The elder princess grins and concurs.)**

**Ayeka:** Very true. I thank you, Kiyone.

**(Sasami nods her approval while Ryoko sighs hard, her eyes still cold toward Mitsuki.)**

**Ryoko:** Fine enough.

**(Mihoshi then steps forward.)**

**Mihoshi:** What about me, Kiyone? I want to be a part of this too.

**(Kiyone shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** I think you should stay here, Mihoshi.

**(Disheartened, the blonde inquires.)**

**Mihoshi:** Why?

**(Honestly, Kiyone explains as she rests a hand on her partner's shoulder.)**

**Kiyone:** We need a Galaxy Police officer here as well. After all, if Nerti comes to and is still controlled, someone will have to contain her.

**Mihoshi:** But, there are a lot of MiB agents here...

**Kiyone:** I know, but most of them are newbies too. You're a Galaxy Police detective. You've faced space pirates, dark emperors, and energy beings before. Most of them haven't. They'll need you.

**(Reluctantly, Mihoshi agrees, to Kiyone and Mitsuki's approval. Sasami also takes Mihoshi's hand and verbalizes her support.)**

**Sasami:** We all have our parts, Mihoshi.

**(With a sisterly pride, Ayeka smiles at her younger sister, hearing her own words on the girl's lips. Tenchi nods and speaks himself.)**

**Tenchi:** She's right, Mihoshi. We do.

**(The others turn to him as he continues.)**

**Tenchi:** And, you won't be alone. I'm staying here on Earth too.

**(Ryoko and Ayeka both blink in surprise at this, their confused words blurting from the lips.)**

**Ryoko:** What?

**Ayeka:** Tenchi?

**(He affirms this thoughtfully.)**

**Tenchi:** I know.

**(He glances to Ryoko.)**

**Tenchi:** I could help fight through the Ryoan defenses.

**(He turns next to Ayeka.)**

**Tenchi:** The emperor might even hear my plea.

**(To them all, he seriously explains.)**

**Tenchi:** But, with Pii and Nerti here, I think I should stay as well. Azaka told me about what she was like when she was controlled.

**(His brown eyes meet Ryoko's golden gaze as he relates his knowledge.)**

**Tenchi:** Her abilities were similar to yours, Ryoko, and she knew full well how to use them against even a knight of Jurai.

**(The Ryoan woman lowers her eyes, considering this while he then glances to Mihoshi.)**

**Tenchi:** Not that I don't have confidence in your abilities or those of the MiB, Mihoshi, but I think I should stay as well.

**(With a smile, the blonde officer accepts this while Tenchi then turns to Ayeka, his eyes lowered.)**

**Tenchi:** I'm sorry, Ayeka. This is how I feel.

**(He chuckles weakly, adding.)**

**Tenchi:** Not that the emperor would listen to me anyway.

**(A coldness grips the heart of the elder princess hearing these words. Ryoko sighs and shakes her head, her caustic attitude breaking the somber tone.)**

**Ryoko:** Then, he's a damned idiot.

**(All eyes turn to her as she concludes her comment.)**

**Ryoko:** But, I see your point.

**(The prince grins thankfully to her while Ayeka also accepts this, though disheartened.)**

**Ayeka:** ... As do I.

**(Guiltily, Tenchi lowers his eyes from Ayeka while Ryoko glances between the two of them, a weight in her own chest. However, Kiyone steps forward with a suggestion.)**

**Kiyone:** We should go ahead and check Pii's ship so we can get some rest. The next three days are going to be tough.

**(Mitsuki shakes her head and comments.)**

**Mitsuki:** You can try. The canopy's sealed.

**(Mihoshi purses her lips, confused.)**

**Mihoshi:** But, you have all the lock-cracking equipment on your ship. Don't you?

**(The redhead scoffs and nods.)**

**Mitsuki:** Yeah, but it's a Pentinian fighter, a military craft. Breaking into those isn't that easy, considering the mega-hex encryption and bio-tag locks. We'll have to wait until he comes to first.

**(Tenchi raises a brow and suggests.)**

**Tenchi:** Couldn't Washu open it?

**(Kiyone grins wryly.)**

**Kiyone:** Probably, but you want to butter her up to make her do it?

**(The prince sweats a bit and adds with a silly smile.)**

**Tenchi:** You have a point...

**(The group starts toward the door back to the main complex while Mitsuki asks.)**

**Mitsuki:** Anything else I need to know about the situation?

**(As Kiyone and Mihoshi start to elaborate, Ayeka sighs, watching Tenchi and Ryoko continue with the GP officers. However, a distant whisper grabs her attention, drawing it back toward Mitsuki's patrol-ship. The soft voice calls to her by name, bringing confusion to her thoughts.)**

**(Yet, when she takes a step toward the vessel, a tug at her kimono sleeve breaks her focus. She glances again to see Sasami's worried gaze. She turns back to the ship, the voice now silent.)**

Scene 4 – Premonitions

**(Meadows of lovely, violet flowers stretch across the lush world of Jurai, the petals gently swaying in the wind. The soft footsteps of Princess Ayeka fall between them as she enjoys the breeze, her long tails of hair billowing with her elegant kimono. Her hand brushes a few stray strands of her tresses behind her ear while she smiles warmly.)**

**(Beginning its descent on the horizon, the sun shines its waning rays across the meadow, accentuating her subtle features and regal demeanor. The princess then speaks, a quiet joy in her words.)**

**Ayeka:** A beautiful afternoon.

**(She clasps her hands behind her back while she starts to spin to the side, toward a figure nearby.)**

**Ayeka:** Wouldn't you say, Tenchi?

**(However, when her eyes fall on the gentleman, shock and fear fill her amethyst gaze at the man standing before her. His grey eyes narrow calculatingly from behind his jade locks as they meet hers. His dark purple and green robes flow with the wind while a black Mark of Rage claws over his right cheek. Kagato Jurai, late usurper to the throne, smiles venomously at his one time captive.)**

**Kagato:** If he were here, I am sure he would agree, princess.

**(She quickly clears a distance away from the dark man but promptly ceases when she encounters a barrier. Startled, she looks up at the impedance, two other figures. With a gasp, she slides away from them as well, trapped between these two men and the usurper.)**

**(These other two men are also recognized by their black gi and hakama. One has long black hair, spiking near the crown of his forehead toward his soft blue eyes. In his hands, a vine-like staff rests, a pale sphere in its headpiece. The other wears his pale indigo smooth behind his head, far away from his face. However, this man's eyes are much more menacing, their corneas black and pupils red. In his grasp, a thorned staff key waits to unleash its fury, a similar pale orb in its headpiece. Kagato's two knights, Tetta and Tessei, both smirk confidently at the princess.)**

**(Ayeka's eyes dart from the two knights to their master as she summons her mini-guardians around her. To Kagato, she shakes her head, disbelief hanging to her voice.)**

**Ayeka:** This can't be! I saw Tenchi cut you down!

**(The usurper regards his empty hand as he nods.)**

**Kagato:** But, fear of my name still lives.

**(In his hand, a sword's hilt appears, twisted and greyed. When he closes his fingers around it, the guard opens, issuing forth a bloody broad-sided blade. Ayeka eyes the weapon apprehensively, remembering it hanging over Tenchi's head, as well as her own. However, Kagato regards her with some interest in his tone.)**

**Kagato:** But, you hardly have any need to fear me.

**(Confusion in her eyes, Ayeka questions him.)**

**Ayeka:** What do you mean?

**(A leer escapes his gaze while he replies.)**

**Kagato:** I would not harm my ally.

**(Surprise merges with the confusion in the princess's expression.)**

**Ayeka:** "Ally"?

**(He nods when Ayeka's own voice sounds from her side. However, this second voice blends with a booming overtone.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Someone who shares his goals:

**(The princess spins around, searching for the source of the voice, only finding the sickening grins of Tetta and Tessei focused at her.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** An end to the rightful bloodline of Jurai's royal family...

**(The sun completely descends behind the horizon while Kagato and his minions chuckle to themselves, the sound haunting Ayeka.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** All the empire rallying to conquest...

**(Frantic, the princess spins to Kagato, who watches her, pleased.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** The universe laid as an offering.

**(Ayeka demands from the usurper.)**

**Ayeka:** Why are you doing this?! I don't want any of these things! I am no ally of yours, you monster!

**(He scoffs, angling his head to the side slightly.)**

**Kagato:** Monster, am I? Then, what of your own sins, Princess Jurai Ayeka?

**(A chill rushes through the princess.)**

**Ayeka:** My sins...?

**(He takes a step toward her, the flowers beneath his feet catching fire. Around her, a disc of the meadow lights and burns. The smell around her is stifling but soon also reeks of scorched flesh. The usurper smiles knowingly while his knights chuckle behind her.)**

**Kagato:** You have blood on your hands as well, princess.

**(She shakes her head, denying this.)**

**Ayeka:** No, I would never...!

**(From her side, another voice rises, a familiar girl's voice.)**

**Girl:** You have.

**(She spins to see a pale-skinned girl, cloaked in black robes. Her coal-black eyes stare straight at Ayeka, accusing and damning. The metamorphic being known as Seia continues.)**

**Seia:** And, you will again.

**(A weight hollows through the princess while her amethyst eyes gaze at Seia.)**

**Ayeka:** But... I didn't...

**(Again, the other "Ayeka" voice speaks, mimicking the true princess.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** But... I did...

**(The princess swings around, searching for the other woman speaking while the four people with her gather together. Seia comments, words familiar to Ayeka's ears.)**

**Seia:** Another dark Juraian...

**(The violet-tressed woman turns back to Seia as Kagato and his knights raise their dark keys. The usurper grins, adding.)**

**Kagato:** And now, for your key.

**(Ayeka shakes her head, denying this.)**

**Ayeka:** No, I have a key to Jurai's power.

**(She reaches to touch her tiara, but her fingers touch her scalp. Shocked, she traces its usual position on her brow, not finding a fragment of the device. She backs to the center of the burnt disc, confusion swarming her thoughts. Kagato, Tetta, and Tessei take places equidistant around the edge of the region, their eyes set firmly on Ayeka.)**

**(A rumbling starts beneath the ground before the princess when a violet crystal pushes from beneath the soil. She watches it rise, a grand crystalline cross that towers over her. The scent of smoldering flesh gags the princess, forcing her to cough while Seia walks to her, speaking softly.)**

**Seia:** It's time to take your place, Jurai Ayeka.

**(The child's hand grips the collar of the woman's kimono and pulls her suddenly forward. Ayeka's eyes meet where Seia's face would be, yet the face staring back at her is far more chilling. Pale and deathly, Ayeka's own face leers at her, slate grey eyes meeting the natural amethyst. This Dark Ayeka smiles at her light counterpart.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Time to take my place.

**(A scream launches from Ayeka's lips as she shoots up to a sitting posture in bed. Her frantic breath soon settles as she glances around the room, searching for the quartet that tormented her. However, she only finds a scantly furnished guest room. She calms herself but then closes her eyes, her fingers reaching toward her brow. With a sigh of relief, she touches the tiara key ubiquitously found on her head.)**

**(The princess glances to the bedside, where a small table holds a lamp and an open book. Quietly, she reaches to the lamp, causing it to illuminate the room. Now basking in color, Sasami can be seen sleeping at her side. The elder sister smiles at her junior, glad she still remains in slumber.)**

**(However, her attention turns back to the text on the table. This classically bound piece of literature contains words written in the Juraian script. Specifically, this page has been held with a velvet bookmark, embroidered with Ayeka's name. The princess regards the page, reading the title silently.)**

**Ayeka:** "The Journals of Queen Jurai Achi, Chapter 9 – The Rebirth of the Dark War"...

**(She flips the page idly, recalling her education.)**

**Ayeka:** ... She was the first crown princess of Jurai, shortly after the war with Ryua. Her parents lead Jurai to victory, alongside Azaka and Kamidake.

**(Skimming the words, she nods as her memory is refreshed.)**

**Ayeka:** "Nightly, I would tuck my children into bed, assuring them often that all was well. However, my daughter would always ask me, 'Why do you cry at night, Mother?'". She wrote this after she had become queen and mother herself. Each of her children started one of the major branch families of the Jurai royal family.

**(Remembering her purpose, she comments.)**

**Ayeka:** That's right. Since Jurai and Ryua had faced one another before, I was looking for some connection to the dark power from the old war.

**(An icy breeze drifts past Ayeka as she reads this passage, causing her to shiver. Continuing, she notes several key phrases.)**

**Ayeka:** "That is when I told her of what I saw in my dreams. I stood amongst the flames, fields of our trees burning. I could hear our people crying, screaming for help. Above me, crystal shards fell with the fiery leaves as crimson and azure burst, clashing against one another. Before me, the palace crumbled, its branches aflame."

**(As the imagery fills her mind, the princess holds her arms close. Scanning forward, she notes other significant references to "darkness". However, one causes her to pause, a dryness in her mouth to complement the coldness in the air.)**

**Ayeka:** "In the fields, I saw a woman of the Light, brilliance burning through the ranks. However, I could see a beast of Shadow at her side, clawing and snarling as the two fought."

**(A soft growl rises in her ears, startling her to glance around the room. However, the sound fades away in the rumble of the air conditioning system. She takes a calming breath and closes the text, the cover reading _Holy Chronicle of Jurai_ in Juraiji. The princess stands and takes a few steps toward the door, rubbing her eyes.)**

**Ayeka:** I must be more tired than I realized. My imagination is playing tricks on me.

**(The regal lady taps a key next to the door, causing it to rise up and away.)**

**Ayeka:** Perhaps a walk will clear my head some.

**(As she exits, she neglects to see Sasami's rosy gaze silently watching her from the bed. Ayeka wanders through the corridors of the MiB headquarters, passing several of the black-suited agents that work and reside in the complex. As she winds through the halls, those prophetic words about the "woman of the Light" linger in the back of her mind, alongside that growl she had thought she heard.)**

**(Soon, she reaches the entrance to the hangar. The regal-haired lady pauses for a moment, regarding the door when the whisper returns to her ears. Again, its words are too soft to be fully understood, furrowing the princess's brow. Pressing the keypad near the door, the portal opens and allows her entry.)**

**(Here, several agents work on and around the two Galaxy Police vessels, the new fold systems being added to each. Also at the dock, Pii's Pentinian fighter rests, removed from its previous location within Mitsuki's craft. From her side, Ryoko's voice catches her attention.)**

**Ryoko:** Couldn't sleep either?

**(Ayeka glances aside to see her Ryoan compatriot standing with a thoughtful look on her face. The princess nods, affirming this suspicion.)**

**Ayeka:** No, my mind is far too active at the moment.

**(With a scoff, the former pirate concurs.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, I know how that is. I never could sleep before a heist.

**(The violet-tressed woman regards her cyan-maned ally curiously while the latter grins with her reflective words.)**

**Ryoko:** I'd always been thinking of how it's going to go down: what the GP would do, how to handle it, if I'd have to watch for Nagi... It always kept me on my toes.

**Ayeka:** Do you miss it, that criminal enterprise?

**(Ryoko shakes her head and chuckles to herself.)**

**Ryoko:** I'd be lying if I said I didn't. There was excitement and danger everyday. You sorta get addicted to it.

**(With a sigh, she adds.)**

**Ryoko:** But, some things are more important, really.

**(Knowingly, Ayeka lowers her eyes and nods.)**

**Ayeka:** You're very right.

**(A silence passes between them before Ryoko takes a breath to speak. However, Ayeka is the first to utter the next word.)**

**Ayeka:** I've been researching historical references to the dark power. There aren't many predating Kain.

**(The former pirate glances aside, accepting the topic change.)**

**Ryoko:** Alright. Was there anything?

**Ayeka:** Yes, a prophecy written by the first crown princess, the same whom Liaens kidnapped.

**(Ryoko's brows furrow at this fact.)**

**Ryoko:** You're kidding?

**Ayeka:** I'm not, though it is a vague connection.

**Ryoko:** What's she say?

**(Ayeka closes her eyes and comments in summary.)**

**Ayeka:** She describes a recurring dream, one where Jurai burned during a second war with Ryua. In it, five heroes fight in the great battle with the Darkness. She elaborates on other mythical figures from Juraian history, the Woman of Mystery and the Mother of Darkness in particular.

**(Raising a brow, Ryoko inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** Who are they?

**Ayeka:** The Woman of Mystery is the progenitor of our world, our god in a sense. She's rarely referenced outside of the creation story. When she is, the association is with Jurai itself, our power, our trees, light, water, or life..

**Ryoko:** And, the other?

**Ayeka:** The Mother of Darkness is, likewise, rarely referenced elsewhere in Juraian history. She's remarked as being the antithesis of the Woman of Mystery, associated with darkness, fire, and death. In Queen Achi's writings, she is also associated with Ryua and its crystals.

**(Ryoko considers this.)**

**Ryoko:** Ryua too?

**(Ayeka shakes her head, adding.)**

**Ayeka:** Most historians regards her writings as a reaction to the Ryo-Jurai War. Many feared an uprising after Ryua's defeat. The tone of the piece seems to point at that, having heroes fight embodiments of Ryoan resentment.

**(Understanding, Ryoko nods, though she comments.)**

**Ryoko:** That might be part of it, Ayeka, but think about it. We've got a big wad of dark power coming this way, far more powerful than Kain. That sure sounds like a "mother of all darkness" to me.

**(Ayeka blinks, thinking while the former pirate continues.)**

**Ryoko:** Besides, Washu _did_ track this thing back to Ryua, a "Ryoan uprising". The queen who wrote that is even the same person Liaens kidnapped. This can't just all be coincidence.

**Ayeka:** Perhaps...

**(She then sets this aside and continues.)**

**Ayeka:** However, this doesn't help our present situation. No part of it had any particular insight into the enemy's weaknesses.

**(Ryoko scoffs, her hands resting on her hips.)**

**Ryoko:** Figures. How does that prophecy end?

**(Ayeka grins slightly.)**

**Ayeka:** Like most heroic tales, the enemy is vanquished after an epic battle.

**Ryoko:** Well, at least the good guys win.

**(She laughs to herself, and the princess soon joins her. After a moment, the two calm, and the cyan-tressed woman turns to her ally.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm going to snag a drink from the lounge. You want anything?

**(The regal-haired lady shakes her head.)**

**Ayeka:** No, thank you. I'll be heading back to bed here shortly.

**(Ryoko nods.)**

**Ryoko:** Alright. Later then.

**(With this, the Ryoan woman fades away, leaving the whooshing of air filling her previous location. Left to herself, the elder princess of Jurai directs her attention again to the ships and the crews modifying them. A weight presses on her heart as she considers her task, returning to Jurai and requesting aid from the emperor. With a heavy sigh, she closes her eyes, weariness returning to her.)**

**(Then, the whisper speaks to her ears again. Ayeka blinks her eyes open, the sound far more recognizable now: three male voices in unison. Yet, their words are still too distant to be understood. Slowly, she advances into the hangar proper, following this whisper, even amongst the construction surrounding her.)**

**(With these voices rising in volume, the regal-tressed woman approaches Pii's fighter. Confusion crosses her eyes as she stands next to the vehicle, the words in her ears now understandable and repetitive.)**

**Voices:** ...Upsilon... Kappa... Zero... Zero... Two...

**(The noble lady glances over the canopy of the vessel, finding a key pad with Greek, Latin, and numeric symbols. Hesitantly, her gentle hand rests on the pad, causing a wave of light to pass over her skin. Startled, she pulls back her hand, seeing a display alight with the following text: "Ethereal Component Confirmed: Nerti Ro". Curious and careful, Ayeka again rests her hand on the keypad, slowly entering the code of the voices.)**

**(The canopy of the ship pops loose from its moorings and slides away from the cockpit. Within, two seats stand behind rows of controls for the piloting of the craft and firing its weapon systems. However, behind the two chairs, a red case is attached to the floor. Labeled "Fire Suppressant: Emergency Use Only", this innocuous case spurs the voices once more.)**

**Voices:** Open... Open it...

**(Ayeka steps into the gunner's chair and reaches back to the case. Slowly, she rests her hand on the box and pauses, her eyes closing with apprehension. Her mouth dry, she shakes her head.)**

**Ayeka:** This... is insane...

**(Another voice then speaks to her, her own.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** This has called to you. You want to know why.

**Ayeka:** That is true... but...

**Mock Ayeka:** Then, open it and know. It is simple and harmless, opening a case.

**(Her eyes open as she nods.)**

**Ayeka:** True...

**Mock Ayeka:** Open it.

**(The other voices chorus with Mock Ayeka while the princess clicks open the latches holding the case closed. Gradually, she lifts the lid of the box, shock and horror finding their way into her amethyst eyes. Within lay the vine and thorn staves of Tetta and Tessei, along with the closed hilt of their master's sword.)**

**(Now, the voices sound again in her ears, their tonality clear and obvious.)**

**Kagato, Tetta, Tessei, & Mock Ayeka:** Take your place, Jurai Ayeka.

**(A grey color eats away at the natural red of Ayeka's eyes as her hand slowly approaches the shadowy keys. Yet, a single call of her name silences these voices, forcing her eyes to their normal state.)**

**Sasami:** Ayeka!

**(The elder princess spins around to find her sister standing behind her, glancing between the regal-tressed woman and the vile weapons. Confusion fills Ayeka's face as she considers the situation. Sasami sits with her, a hand on her shoulder as she questions her about this find. Curious MiB agents approach the fighter while Ayeka narrates retrospectively.)**

**Ayeka:** Had Sasami not stopped me, the house of cards would have fallen far sooner than it did. She had been watching over me, and I was a fool for not realizing it before I finally did.


	3. Act 3

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 3Scene 1 – Departure

**(Within the hangar of the MiB headquarters, the two Galaxy Police patrol-ships of Kiyone and Mitsuki rest next to one another. Attached to the hull of each are a pair of tube-like devices, Washu's space fold machines. Gathered at the dock, the teams for the two missions to Jurai and Ryua stand with the group remaining behind, a severity hanging amongst them all.)**

**(Next to Yagami's bow, Kiyone pushes her teal hair aside, glancing around her teammates. L lowers her eyes, considering this, her first flight into space. Yosho folds his arms, regarding Ayeka's quiet speech with Tenchi. Sasami also watches her elder sister, a worry hidden in her gaze.)**

**(Before Mitsuki's ship, the redheaded GP liaison traces the metal plates of her artificial hand thoughtfully, listening to the others. J's attention and concern shift to L and her uneasiness, words forming gradually. Washu turns her green eyes to the two vessels, her discerning intellect visually inspecting the welds once again. Ryo-Ohki sits atop Ryoko's shoulder listening quietly while her mistress converses with Tenchi.)**

**(Facing these two groups, Tenchi stands with his father and Mihoshi, the young prince's wry reassurance offsetting the blonde's teary eyes. With a pride in his sight, Nobuyuki observes his son's speech with the others.)**

**Tenchi:** They'll be back in a couple days, Mihoshi, and this will all be over.

**(Sasami grins and nods, concurring with him.)**

**Sasami:** Yeah, you'll see. It'll be alright when we get back with help.

**(Mihoshi sniffles some and nods while Ayeka's longing amethyst gaze meets Tenchi. Softly, she voices her valediction.)**

**Ayeka:** Be safe, Tenchi.

**(The young prince agrees, reciprocating his concern.)**

**Tenchi:** I will. You take care too.

**(He then glances to Ryoko, who concurs silently.)**

**Tenchi:** All of you, come home safely.

**(The elder princess's eyes glance between these two, her voice remaining silent while the others affirm Tenchi's statement. Washu turns back to the group and gravely reminds the others.)**

**Washu:** Time's getting short. We need to push on.

**(At this, Kiyone and Mitsuki open the iris-like doors to their respective ships. Washu slips inside Mitsuki's ship while Ryoko pauses to raise her hand at her side to Tenchi.)**

**Ryoko:** See ya soon.

**(He raises his hand back before she then turns to Ayeka's party. With a quick wave, she addresses the princess.)**

**Ryoko:** Good luck, Ayeka.

**(Bowing kindly, the princess answers.)**

**Ayeka:** The same to you, Ryoko.

**(Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki fade away, vanished into Mitsuki's ship. The violet-tressed lady turns back to Tenchi, who waves gently to her. She smiles warmly, and distantly, as she bows to him as well. Without a word, she boards Yagami, leaving Tenchi to blink confusedly.)**

**(Sasami also bows and smiles softly as she adds.)**

**Sasami:** We'll be back soon.

**(Tenchi nods to her while she turns to board as well. Next the Terran native regards his grandfather.)**

**Tenchi:** Take care, Grandpa.

**(Yosho affirms this and comments.)**

**Yosho:** You too, Tenchi.

**(As he enters the ship, J calls over to L, grabbing her attention.)**

**J:** Hey, L.

**L:** Yes?

**(The male agent grins.)**

**J:** You got this. Don't worry so much.

**(She scoffs and shakes her head.)**

**L:** I'm not worried. I'm not the one walking into the enemy's territory.

**(Humored, he sighs and accepts this.)**

**J:** Alright. See ya when it's over.

**(She agrees and boards Yagami, though J glances seriously over to Kiyone.)**

**J:** Look out for her, Kiyo.

**(Without hesitation, the teal-haired officer responds.)**

**Kiyone:** Of course.

**(While J enters Mitsuki's craft, Mihoshi approaches Kiyone and Mitsuki, the redhead commenting with a scoff.)**

**Mitsuki:** Sweet of you, Kiyone.

**(The green-tressed officer smiles warmly.)**

**Kiyone:** I'd ask the same of him, but I know you can take care of yourself, Mitsuki.

**(Grinning, Mitsuki extends her human hand to her old friend, which Kiyone firmly takes in her own. Gravely, the latter advises the former.)**

**Kiyone:** Watch your back.

**Mitsuki:** I will. You do the same.

**(Mihoshi then wraps her arms around them both, bringing drops of nervous sweat beading on the faces of them both. Tenchi and Nobuyuki grin wryly as they watch the blonde's teary words.)**

**Mihoshi:** Take care!

**Kiyone:** We will, Mihoshi...

**Mitsuki:** Can you let us go now?

**(The two ease out of Mihoshi's embrace before they turn to Tenchi and his father.)**

**Kiyone:** We'll be back as soon as we can, Tenchi.

**Mitsuki:** We'll let you know what we find out.

**(Warmly, he and Nobuyuki bow to them.)**

**Tenchi:** Thank you both. We'll be waiting for you.

**(The officers bow in reciprocation before they also board their ships. Behind them, the iris-like doors close their petals. Mihoshi waves at the two crafts, voicing her farewells while the moorings pop free from the hulls of each machine. Above them, the hangar's exit splits and slides open, revealing the early morning sky. In this dim dawn, both crafts rise into the empty air and rush through the atmosphere to the black tapestry of space beyond.)**

**(Back in the hangar, Tenchi, Mihoshi, and Nobuyuki watch the pair vanish from sight as the enormous doors rejoin to form the pastoral facade once again. The blonde GP officer sighs and sniffles, holding her hands together before her. Softly, she whispers to herself.)**

**Mihoshi:** Now, what am I going to do?

**(Tenchi steps forward and rests a hand on her shoulder. The young woman glances back to the supportive smile on his lips, hearing his comforting words.)**

**Tenchi:** You'll help us, Mihoshi, just like you always have.

**(She grins wryly, commenting.)**

**Mihoshi:** I... I'm not too great on my own.

**Tenchi:** You saved Kiyone on your own, back during the coup. Remember?

**(With a nod, she acknowledges this.)**

**Mihoshi:** Yeah...

**(She wipes her tears while he continues.)**

**Tenchi:** We all have our parts in this, Mihoshi. Dad and I, and all the Men in Black, are here with you. You're not alone.

**(The officer nods, a thankful smile on her face.)**

**Mihoshi:** Thanks, Tenchi. I'll do my best.

**Tenchi:** I know you will.

**(While Nobuyuki proudly watches, an announcement calls across the address system in the hangar.)**

**PA:** Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu, please report to Chief Agent Zed's office. Repeat. Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu...

**(The prince nods confidently toward the door.)**

**Tenchi:** Looks like they need you.

**(The blue-eyes of the detective glance down for a moment while she agrees.)**

**Mihoshi:** Yeah, thanks again, Tenchi.

**Tenchi:** Call us if you need any help.

**(She smiles warmly and accepts this.)**

**Mihoshi:** I will. I will!

**(The blonde spins toward the door and rushes off, waving back toward them as she goes. However, she skids to the side and avoids an MiB technician carrying a lot of files. Wide-eyed, the agent stops suddenly, barely keeping a grip on the documents while Mihoshi bows her head slightly in apology. She rushes off again as Tenchi grins wryly, embarrassed.)**

**(Nobuyuki sets his hand upon his son's shoulder, drawing the teenager's attention to the middle-aged man. With a knowing and proud smile on his face, the father comments.)**

**Nobuyuki:** That was a nice thing, Tenchi.

**(A bit embarrassed, Tenchi scratches the back of his head.)**

**Tenchi:** Well, I was just trying to make her feel better.

**Nobuyuki:** I know. You take after your mom that way.

**(Confused, Tenchi blinks at this.)**

**Tenchi:** I do?

**(With a thoughtful grin, the widower affirms this.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, before you were born, it took a while before my firm really gave me any jobs.

**(He glances to the side, memories of her voice filling his ears.)**

**Nobuyuki:** "Just stay with it. They'll see you soon," she'd say.

**(He pats Tenchi's back and smiles.)**

**Nobuyuki:** And, she was right. Just about when you were born, I got my first big assignment.

**(A warm smile crosses the young man's lips while his father nods, his hand gripping his son's shoulder.)**

**Nobuyuki:** You support your friends the same way...

**(His voice trails off, softer as he slightly changes the topic.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Especially those two girls.

**(The prince glances back to the architect confusedly when he nods knowingly and honestly.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Everyone can see it, Tenchi.

**(Tenchi lowers his eyes, his father adding the obvious.)**

**Nobuyuki:** And, so do you, right?

**(The young man crosses his left arm over his chest, gripping the upper region of the opposite shoulder. His voice grows soft, considering Nobuyuki's insinuation.)**

**Tenchi:** I don't know, Dad...

**(The elder man shakes his head.)**

**Nobuyuki:** No, you do.

**(Closing his eyes, Tenchi listens to his father explain.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Tenchi, I've played myself like a lady's man, but I was no different than you when I was young.

**(He chuckles with the memory.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Your mom was the aggressive one.

**(In Tenchi's thoughts, he too remembers watching his young parents during his short jaunt to the past. He can remember his mother's flirtatious conversations with his father, and the blushing response he would give.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Ryoko and Ayeka aren't that much different in that respect, really.

**(The architect releases his son's shoulder and adds, his tone advisory.)**

**Nobuyuki:** But, they won't be there forever, Tenchi, if you keep them at arm's length.

**(With a heavy breath, Tenchi turns to his father, conflict evident in his face.)**

**Tenchi:** I care about them both, Dad. I don't want to...

**(He pauses, glancing at the floor. Concurring, Nobuyuki adds seriously.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I know, son. You've all grown up a lot since you all met, and done great things together. But, it's also not right to leave a lady waiting, let alone two.

**(Tenchi nods, and his father grins and pats his shoulder.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I'm not a wise man like your grandpa, but I'm here if you want to talk.

**(With a warm smile, the prince accepts this.)**

**Tenchi:** Thanks, Dad.

**(Curious, he inquires, though carefully.)**

**Tenchi:** Could we talk about how you and Mom got together?

**Nobuyuki:** Sure, it was back when we were in high school...

**(The young man shakes his head.)**

**Tenchi:** Well, I know about that.

**(Quizzically, Nobuyuki furrows his brows at this.)**

**Nobuyuki:** You do?

**(A bead of sweat appears on Tenchi's forehead as he quickly replies.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, you've mentioned it before... when Ryoko and Ayeka first showed up.

**(With a rather moronic grin, the youth tries to mask his slip while his father purses his lips in thought. The son then continues, emphasizing his actual question.)**

**Tenchi:** I was thinking more like when you two decided you were "together", permanently.

**(Nobuyuki scratches the back of his head, much like his son, and agrees, though with a curious gleam remaining in his eye.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Sure, Tenchi.

**(Together, the pair walk toward the door leading into the primary complex. However, as Nobuyuki describes his early days with his wife to Tenchi, the architect glances again to his son, a strange familiarity hanging in his mind.)**

Scene 2 – Recovery

**(Deep within the complex of the MiB headquarters, the infirmary remains quiet, calm before the coming storm. Here, the medical personnel walk through the corridors with the usual black suit attire, but with the addition of the traditional white medical coat. One such physician pauses at the door to an examination room, taking the data tablet hanging at its side.)**

**(The device glows to life, displaying an image of the patient with their vital statistics, condition, and treatment plans. Here, Will Pii's portrait is shown with the following information:**

Name: Edward William Pii

Race: Terran

Sex: Male

Blood: O

Age: 18 yrs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Height: 175cm

Mass: 79.4kg.

**Following these basics, the document describes pallor and loss of consciousness from blood loss, no doubt from a deep incision into his left knee joint. Numerous scars are also mentioned, a byproduct of his occupation. There is also a short note of previous treatment from the MiB in July 1997 for a minor head injury in combat with the gynoid Mecha-Nerti.)**

**(The doctor skims the treatment information regarding a transfusion and surgery to repair the hunter's knee. However, a second patient's data follows Pii's. Nerti Ro's portrait appears with her information:**

Name: Nerti Ro

Race: Pentinian

Sex: Female

Blood: B

Age: 18 yrs (approx)

Eyes: Grey

Hair: Blonde

Height: 175cm

Mass: 73.7kg.

**Below this data, her status is listed as "unconscious due to unknown circumstances" along with results of CAT and MRI scans on her, all inconclusive. The doctor's eyes narrow, considering these before he reads on to her treatment. Currently, it is stated that she has a nutrient drip and is monitored for a possible security risk.)**

**(While the doctor sets the data tablet back on the rack next to the door, silence pervades within the room itself. Here, Pii and Nerti each lie in one of two parallel beds, monitoring systems standing nearby.)**

**(Yet, Pii's head turns slightly, his breath heavy. His face tenses, experiencing the pain of his wound while his head rolls to the other side. Sleepily, his eyes open, his vision blurred and slow to focus. However, with a few blinks, the hunter's vision clears and falls upon the young woman across from him.)**

**(Seeing Nerti, Pii pushes himself to a sitting posture, but he hisses as his left knee bends. Quickly, his mind remembers the polished blade of the scythe sweeping through his joint and his subsequent collapse. Pulling aside the sheets, he notes the removal of his black coat and red armor, as well as the missing left leg of his blue bodysuit. Around his knee, a white device grips the joint, covering the wound and its repair.)**

**(Closing his eyes, Pii curses to himself before his attention sweeps back to Nerti's unconscious face. Longingly, he watches her breathe slowly, a shame written in his quiet expression. He turns to his injured leg and the railing at the bed's side. The Terran reaches to the railing and follows its design below to a handle. Pulling this, the railing swings free and away from the side of the bed.)**

**(Carefully, he takes the medical brace around his knee in his hands and eases it toward the edge of the bed. The joint bends, sending a shot of pain through his body. However, he hisses and bears it until he is sitting on the edge of the bed.)**

**(Here, he glances to the two needles in his arm, one for the nutrient drip and the other for the monitoring system. The hunter grimaces as he pulls these out, spurring an alert tone to scream from the monitor. Deftly, he reaches behind it and loosens the power cord, silencing it.)**

**(Carefully, Pii slides his reliable right foot to the floor and stands firm upon it, his left leg remaining bent. His fists tighten against the sheets of the bed while the ache of the hanging knee runs through him. However, his eyes turn back to Nerti as he purposefully breathes, easing the feeling away.)**

**(Glancing to the nearby wall, he finds a slim railing close to his waist's height. Resting his hand on this, he hops forward, tensing at the shake of his knee from the vibration. Yet, he continues, soon reaching Nerti's bedside. There, he seats himself, taking a slow breath to aid in pushing the pain away.)**

**(Gently, Pii takes Nerti's hand in his own and looks at her quiet face. With a sigh, he lightly pats her hand while his gaze and thoughts drift for a moment.)**

**Pii:** The hell are we...?

**(The hunter then recalls the redheaded officer Mitsuki standing over him, inquiring his condition and the perpetrator. Specifically, her words "liaison officer" hang in this thoughts, furrowing his brows. Roaming his sight around the room, he notes familiarities which bring a sarcastic smirk to his face.)**

**Pii:** Heh, never figured I'd end up here again.

**(Nerti's fingers lightly grip his hand, dragging his attention back to her. She grimaces and furrows her brows while her grey eyes open weakly. Her feline pupils widen to consume the dim light as they focus on the small smile on Pii's face. A grin cross her lips as she whispers to him.)**

**Nerti:** Will...

**Pii:** Welcome back. How are you feeling?

**(She reaches behind her to push herself upward when a spark of emerald light darts over her eyes, carrying with it a wave of disorientation. Worry fills Pii's eyes as she lies into the bed again, the back of her free hand resting against her forehead.)**

**Pii:** Nerti...!

**(She shakes her head slowly.)**

**Nerti:** I'm still me, Will...

**Pii:** Your eyes flashed green again...

**(She blinks her normal grey eyes, a fatigue consuming them once more.)**

**Nerti:** ... I don't hear her voice anymore... I'm just really tired...

**(He rests a hand against her cheek softly.)**

**Pii:** Then, you should rest.

**(Her palm covers his as she smiles warmly and nods.)**

**Nerti:** I will.

**(However, a worry wipes over her face as she questions him.)**

**Nerti:** ... But, where are we? What happened with that Ryoan priest, Hotsuma?

**(She starts to rise when he catches her shoulder halfway up and holds her. The hunter shakes his head, replying.)**

**Pii:** Don't worry. We're on Earth. Hotsuma's gone. He used that crown device to remove Jezibel from you.

**(Her brows furrow, her mind shuffling through the jumbled memories and thoughts from that incident. Yet, her eyes catch a glimpse of the brace around Pii's knee, issuing a cold shiver through her spine. He follows her gaze but quickly returns his eyes to hers, his voice placating.)**

**Pii:** Nerti, don't think about it. Please, just rest.

**Nerti:** Did I...?

**Pii:** It wasn't you.

**(She tenses and closes her eyes, the images of the incident rushing back into her mind: Jezibel's words in her voice, the clash of her scythe against Pii's armor, and the blade slicing through his flesh. Her eyes open wide, tears gathering at their edge as she meets his gaze again. Frustrated and helpless, he shakes his head, emphasizing his previous words.)**

**Pii:** That wasn't you, Nerti. It was her, and she's gone now.

**Nerti:** ... I'm so sorry, Will...

**(His hand holds hers firmly as he nods, a tear rolling down his cheek as well.)**

**Pii:** I know.

**Nerti:** I didn't want to... I...

**(Her eyes blink closed as the fatigue consumes her. Pii eases her back into the soft sheets while she looks back up at him, tears blurring her vision.)**

**Nerti:** ... I feel... so helpless...

**(The hunter agrees, gently wiping her tears away.)**

**Pii:** So do I. Now, rest and get your strength back.

**(With a weak smile, the young woman accepts this.)**

**Nerti:** Alright.

**(For a moment, their eyes meet wordlessly, a mutual emotion expressed in their silence. Pii then leans closer, both closing their gazes before their lips touch in a sweet kiss. However, as he draws back and focuses on her eyes again, the bolt of green crosses her irises, robbing the blonde of her consciousness.)**

**(Quietly, he sighs while he rises to an upright posture, his melancholic eyes on her silent expression. Yet, the slide of the door spins his alertness to the forefront, his cold glare falling upon the entrant. At the portal, Tenchi Masaki stands regarding the Terran hunter and his unconscious charge. The hunter scoffs and grins.)**

**Pii:** Long time, Masaki.

**(Thoughtfully, Tenchi nods, advancing into the room.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, it has been.

**(The prince's eyes glance down to the blonde young woman and questions her protector.)**

**Tenchi:** How is she?

**(Pii follows Tenchi's eyes and answers solemnly.)**

**Pii:** Better, at the moment. She isn't hearing Jezibel's voice anymore.

**Tenchi:** Do you know what happened to her?

**(Pii nods, his attention turning back to the prince.)**

**Pii:** Yeah. When Nagi killed Jezibel, the green-eyed bitch transferred her mind into Nerti, like a computer's data backup.

**(The hunter's eyes glance aside, a scowl appearing on his brow.)**

**Pii:** They've been trapped together until now.

**(Curious, Tenchi raises his gaze to meet Pii's.)**

**Tenchi:** Until now? Have they been separated?

**(Pii sighs, recalling the incident on Miranda.)**

**Pii:** Yeah, though not how I planned. I called up Guru Darbit Talnam of the Kansho Monastery on Wons. They have experience in merged mentality and agreed to see Nerti.

**Tenchi:** Wons? I've never heard of that world.

**Pii:** It's a member world of the Galactic Union, and I've done some work there. That's how I met Talnam in the first place.

**Tenchi:** Then, how'd you get here?

**Pii:** I thought it best to keep a low profile, and there are few traffic lanes around Earth. The monitoring station on Miranda was perfect. Problem was that I wasn't the only one making plans.

**(Narrowing his eyes, Tenchi inquires.)**

**Tenchi:** Who else?

**(Pii coldly gaze back into the young noble's eyes.)**

**Pii:** Jezibel herself. While Nerti and I slept, she worked through Nerti to arrange someone else to meet at the station, a Ryoan priest named Ryunoken Hotsuma.

**(Tenchi's sight drifts toward the hunter's injured knee.)**

**Tenchi:** So he...?

**(Pii shakes his head somberly.)**

**Pii:** Jezibel took control of Nerti and tried to leave with Hotsuma. She nearly took my leg off.

**(The reluctant prince glance to the floor and apologies.)**

**Tenchi:** I'm sorry.

**Pii:** So am I. I should've been more careful.

**(With a sigh, Pii turns to Nerti and rests his hand on hers again.)**

**Pii:** Why are you here, Masaki? It's not usual for a Juraian prince to be in a covert Terran agency.

**(The two meet gazes again as Tenchi now explains his situation.)**

**Tenchi:** We've had troubles too. A couple days ago, an energy distortion broke through the Juraian border, heading toward Earth.

**(Pii furrows his brows, considering this with Hotsuma's earlier words.)**

**Tenchi:** Washu tracked it back to Ryua, her and Ryoko's home-world. We've sent a group to Ryua to investigate, as well as a group to Jurai to ask for help.

**(The prince then notices the hunter's thoughts and inquires.)**

**Tenchi:** What's wrong?

**Pii:** When Hotsuma left, he said, "Your days are numbered few, much like those of Earth itself."

**(Concern and interest grow in Tenchi's voice.)**

**Tenchi:** He did?

**Pii:** Apparently, he knew about this distortion of yours.

**Tenchi:** Did he say anything else about it?

**Pii:** Not especially, but he did mention his "Lady".

**Tenchi:** The same that Liaens worked for?

**Pii:** Yeah, because Jezibel agreed with him.

**(With a spiteful glare, Pii paraphrases them.)**

**Pii:** The Lady has "plans" for Nerti, they said.

**(Tenchi places his hand on Pii's shoulder drawing the hunter's attention.)**

**Tenchi:** If this is all tied together, maybe we can work together: stop the distortion and keep Nerti safe.

**(The Terran considers this while the noble continues.)**

**Tenchi:** When Washu gets back, she might be able to help Nerti, as well as tell us what the connection is. Also, Nerti knows a lot about the NVO energy, and you both were there with us on Jurai.

**(Pii nods, accepting this offer.)**

**Pii:** Fair enough, Masaki.

**(Tenchi grins and extends his hand.)**

**Tenchi:** It's just "Tenchi".

**(Taking the prince's hand, Pii smirks back.)**

**Pii:** "Will".

Scene 3 – Unrequited

**(The deck panels of the Galaxy Police patrol-ship Yagami shake under Kiyone's feet at her chair in the ship's cockpit. She stretches before turning her attention to the warped space shown through her primary display. In a conical shape, the very tapestry of existence seems to twist to a distant point, bright white in the distance. Streaks zoom by the metal craft, planets and solar systems alike.)**

**(The teal-tressed detective glances down to her command console, observing several interface dialogs: "Fold Status: Active", "Power Feed: 70%", "ETA: 0:20" among others. She yawns, covering her mouth when the door behind her opens. Here, agent L stands, her eyes fixated on the swirling path outside the ship. She grins and shakes her head slowly, commenting.)**

**L:** I'm still not used to seeing that.

**(Kiyone grins and remarks humorously.)**

**Kiyone:** You aren't the only one.

**(L nods, seating herself in the copilot's chair.)**

**L:** How are you holding up?

**(The GP officer yawns again before she brushes a few strands of her hair aside.)**

**Kiyone:** A little tired, but alright otherwise. It's been a long shift.

**L:** I could take over the rest of it if you like. It's only a few more minutes.

**(Kiyone smiles and kindly rejects this offer.)**

**Kiyone:** Thanks, but I think I'll finish this out myself. How are the others?

**L:** Lord Yosho was meditating in the cargo bay. I haven't seen the princesses for a while now.

**(The teal-haired officer nods, considering this.)**

**Kiyone:** They're probably resting. It's going to be hard to sell the idea of moving any of Jurai's defenses to help Earth.

**(Understanding, L agrees.)**

**L:** I can see that. I don't envy Ayeka's position in this.

**(Gravely, Kiyone concurs.)**

**Kiyone:** Neither do I.

**(Elsewhere, amongst the coolers and counters of Yagami's galley, Ayeka paces, her arms held close. Worry consumes her expression while her thoughts concern themselves with arguments for the emperor. However, Tenchi's face pushes its way through her logic, causing her to grip her arms tighter around the weight in her stomach. She rests a hand against a nearby counter and sighs, her voice soft.)**

**Ayeka:** I can't think...

**(Through her mind, her own voice scoffs and retorts.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** You're letting that boy cloud your judgment.

**(The violet-haired woman closes her eyes and nods.)**

**Ayeka:** I know... He's always in my thoughts...

**Mock Ayeka:** But, the emperor will hardly move just for him.

**(The princess clutches her arm and agrees reluctantly.)**

**Ayeka:** That might be so... but he may move for me...

**(A chuckle rises from the second voice.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** You? Of what importance are you since you gave the throne to that old man?

**Ayeka:** He is my great-uncle, and he has supported both Sasami and me since Father passed. He will hear my pleas.

**(With a sigh, the sarcastic voice continues.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** He won't. The first priority of the emperor is to...

**(Ayeka concludes this sentence nodding.)**

**Ayeka:** ... protect the empire and its traditions. I know the duties of the emperor well.

**Mock Ayeka:** Then, accept the truth. No help is coming to Earth.

**(The lady's hand balls into a fist as she glares and answers harshly.)**

**Ayeka:** No! I will not!

**(Humored, the voice critiques the original woman.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** Listen to yourself! Do you truly believe that Jurai will weaken its stance to save an unimportant world like Earth, let alone that boy?

**(Tears well in Ayeka's eyes as she shakes her head, her fist tight.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** He's a mongrel, not unlike that half-breed sister of Ryoko's. You should know your place, Lady Jurai Ayeka.

**Ayeka:** My place is by his side.

**Mock Ayeka:** Is it? Then, why is he on Earth, and you here, so far away from danger?

**Ayeka:** I'm getting assistance...

**(The other voice interrupts.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** You're running, Ayeka.

**(Shock issues through her body while the words continue.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** You're abandoning him for your safe home on Jurai.

**Ayeka:** I'm not...!

**(Her heart tears as the damning phrases proceed in her own voice.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** You've bought the greatest swordsman of the empire home, as well as your little sister. You've done a good thing, princess of Jurai.

**Ayeka:** I'm not abandoning Tenchi! I would never do so!

**Mock Ayeka:** He is a fleeting fancy, a fairy tale.

**(Her eyes close as she shakes her head, denying this.)**

**Ayeka:** No, he's not! He's far more to me!

**Mock Ayeka:** Wake up, Jurai Ayeka. Wake up to the reality. You...

**(Her hands extend and grip the counter as she barks back to the doubting words.)**

**Ayeka:** I love him!

**(Ayeka's tears roll down her cheeks as she catches her breath, whispering her gentle words.)**

**Ayeka:** I love Tenchi... I do... I have since...

**(Behind her, a kind and familiar tone replies.)**

**Sasami:** Since before I came to Earth.

**(The elder princess spins her attention toward the door, finding her younger sister standing there with a loving smile on her face. A deep blush crosses Ayeka's face while the azure-tressed girl approaches slowly.)**

**Sasami:** I'm happy you've finally said it.

**Ayeka:** Sasami...

**(The ten-year-old wraps her arms around her sister and hugs her warmly. Gradually, the violet-tressed woman snakes her arms around her sibling as a few sobs eek out of her lips. Sasami's calming voice speaks softly and reassuringly.)**

**Sasami:** We all know you love him, Sister...

**Ayeka:** I'm sorry, Sasami... I shouldn't have...

**(With a shake of her head, Sasami eases back and meets Ayeka's gaze.)**

**Sasami:** You shouldn't hold it in.

**Ayeka:** It's not the proper way.

**(Taking a breath, the elder princess begins to recite her own knowledge.)**

**Ayeka:** He is a royal lord of the Jurai royal family, and it is his...

**(The younger princess places her hands on her shoulders, grabbing her sister's kimono and attention as she interrupts.)**

**Sasami:** What good is the "proper way" if you have to suffer, Ayeka?

**(Silenced, Ayeka listens to her sister's reasoning.)**

**Sasami:** He cares about you, and you care about him. Why can't you just tell him that?

**(The amethyst eyes of the violet-tressed woman lower with her troubled sigh.)**

**Ayeka:** ... Because I want him to tell me...

**(The rosy gaze of her sibling meets hers while the lady continues.)**

**Ayeka:** I want him to accept me, freely.

**(A tear rolls down her cheek.)**

**Ayeka:** I want him to love me back.

**(With a small smile, Sasami takes her sister's hand, causing the two to meet gazes again.)**

**Sasami:** Maybe he's waiting too.

**(Blinking her tears away, Ayeka listens.)**

**Sasami:** Maybe he thinks he's just a boy from Earth, and not good enough for the great princess of Jurai.

**(Ayeka shakes her head, disagreeing.)**

**Ayeka:** But, he's Lord Katsuhito's grandson, in direct line from the throne.

**Sasami:** Yes, but he grew up on Earth, not Jurai, Ayeka. I think he thinks of himself like a Terran boy, not a Juraian prince.

**Ayeka:** How do you know that, Sasami?

**(With a grin, Sasami answers honestly.)**

**Sasami:** I listen. I've heard him say it, and I think you have too.

**(Ayeka considers this carefully, remembering his farewell speech upon leaving Jurai after Kagato's defeat. Gently, the younger sister speaks again, her eyes quietly lowering.)**

**Sasami:** You left Jurai for him, Ayeka. You left your position and status for him. Shouldn't you be honest with him about why you came back to him?

**(Her rosy gaze returns to the amethyst eyes of her sister, adding solemnly.)**

**Sasami:** Particularly now.

**(With a long breath, Ayeka closes her eyes, her mind internalizing this. However, her heart forces her head to nod and finally agree.)**

**Ayeka:** You're right, Sasami...

**(Sasami smiles warmly and hugs her sister again, the elder princess accepting her sister's warmth in reciprocation. A tear comes to her eye once more as she smiles, the weight lifting from her heavy heart. However, pride also rises with that love as she holds her sister close.)**

**Ayeka:** You've grown wise, sister... Thank you...

**(Sasami holds tighter while the two embrace. Yet, a tone calls over a public address system, drawing their attention from one another. Over a speaker device, Kiyone's voice speaks to her passengers.)**

**Kiyone:** Everyone, we're about to come out of this fold. We'll be arriving on Jurai momentarily.

**(Sasami looks up to her sister, who closes her eyes with a breath. Releasing this wind slowly, she sets her eyes seriously, knowing well her coming objective.)**

Scene 4 – Conflicting Interests

**(From the lush greenery of the planet Jurai, one mighty tree stands far above the others nearby. Carved into this great plant, the palace of the royal family resides peacefully, contrary to several of its inhabitants. Atop one of its outstretched branches, a leveled platform rests, awaiting its intended guests.)**

**(Standing nearby, the Terran agent R slides the sleeve of his jacket back, revealing a wristband with a small device. Encased in black metal, this implement emits a cone of light upward, displaying "1159 GST" in translucent lettering upon the air. He sighs while the sunlight above glints off the silver and emerald designs around the cuffs of his sleeves and collar, each in a leaf-like pattern.)**

**(At his side, a young Juraian man folds his arms and shakes his head, the long tan hair around his head shifting from side to side. Dressed in a green tunic and white cloak, this gentleman grins to himself, his lighthearted nature showing. Sagami Jurai, known friend to the Masaki household, comments to his impatient ally.)**

**Sagami:** They are princesses, R. They have to look their best.

**(R narrows his eyes and retorts.)**

**R:** This is an emergency situation, captain, not some ball.

**(The Juraian closes his brown eyes, adding.)**

**Sagami:** Don't worry.

**(A low hum from above turns the Terran's attention to the sky, where the crimson hull of Yagami parts a cloud in her descent.)**

**Sagami:** They won't disappoint.

**(Yagami slowly approaches the palace, nearing the platform before Sagami and R. As Sagami's cloak and hair are blown by the downdraft, the craft's lower fuselage touches the landing pad. Here, beams shoot from close locations, luminescent moorings to support the vessel. The metal petals of the hatch slide open, allowing the docking tube to extend down before the two men.)**

**(A few moments pass until the iris-like door on the docking tube opens, revealing the passengers of the ship: Ayeka, Sasami, Kiyone, Yosho, and L. These five exit, allowing the door to seal itself once again while Sagami and R bow respectfully to the arrivals. Formally, R welcomes them.)**

**R:** Princesses Jurai Ayeka and Sasami, Prince Jurai Yosho. Welcome back to the planet Jurai.

**(Ayeka and Sasami bow gently as Yosho nods quietly, returning this welcome. Sagami and R rise while the MiB liaison continues.)**

**R:** I wish it wasn't under such dire circumstances.

**(Soberly, Ayeka replies.)**

**Ayeka:** Indeed.

**(With a kind smile, Ayeka turns to Sagami.)**

**Ayeka:** It's nice to see you again, Sagami.

**(He concurs with a slight tip of his head.)**

**Sagami:** The same here.

**(Sasami comes to the captain and hugs him warmly, drawing friendly reactions from both the officer and her elder sister. The little princess looks up to him and asks.)**

**Sasami:** Are you here to help too?

**(With a pat on her head, he agrees.)**

**Sagami:** If I can.

**(R advances and extends his hand to L, who shakes it in salutation.)**

**R:** I see Zed isn't keeping out of this.

**(With a scoff, L grins and comments.)**

**L:** Hardly.

**(He turns to Kiyone extending his hand to her as well.)**

**R:** Detective Makibi, your reputation precedes you.

**(The teal-tressed detective accepts his hand much like L and replies.)**

**Kiyone:** Thank you, though we are here to see the emperor.

**(R nods, turning his attention to the entire group.)**

**R:** I know. He's expecting all of you. Please follow me.

**(R spins toward the palace, L walking at his side. Behind them, Kiyone and the Juraians follow through an archway into the carved and polished halls of the Jurai royal palace. Here, reliefs of vines and leaves predominate, expressing the culture's connection to Nature, trees in particular. Through small conduits, water ripples, feeding the organic technology throughout the structure.)**

**(As they walk through the corridors, people of status mingle with those of military rank, many discussing the distortion. Ayeka overhears these words and lowers her eyes, her thoughts back to Tenchi on Earth. Sagami notices and speaks softly to her.)**

**Sagami:** Worried?

**(She nods in silence while he agrees and adds.)**

**Sagami:** We all are. Everyone here fears another incident like during the reunion.

**(His brown eyes glance toward the people they pass as she answers.)**

**Ayeka:** This isn't like the reunion.

**(His attention returns to her, her amethyst eyes concerned with her knowledge.)**

**Ayeka:** This seems more personal, a direct attack against those of us on Earth.

**(Sympathy flows through Sagami's eyes as he nods and replies.)**

**Sagami:** It may seem personal, Ayeka, but it is a common tactic: eliminating an enemy's strength or an impedance to your advance.

**(She glances to him, their eyes meeting with his reassuring tone.)**

**Sagami:** With assistance, this threat should end quickly.

**(The princess closes her eyes and accepts this hopefully.)**

**Ayeka:** I pray that is so.

**(Sasami listens quietly, her own concerns mingling in her expression. However, a hand rests supportively on her shoulder, pulling her rosy gaze to the gentleman behind her. Yosho's lavender eyes issue a silent confidence that raises the young princess's spirits.)**

**(The group comes to a T-junction and rounds a right turn, the great doors of the throne room now visible ahead. Here, the great doors to the inner chamber stand tall and strong with two Juraian soldiers before them. L takes a steadying breath before she questions R.)**

**L:** So, you've met with the emperor before?

**(The male agent nods, commenting.)**

**R:** I have. He's a very quiet man and likes to delegate duties.

**(Nearby, Kiyone raises a brow while Yosho's furrow at this. Curious, L asks again.)**

**L:** Delegate? To whom?

**R:** Usually to ranking members of the Holy Council, particularly the chair and vice-chair.

**(Ayeka's eyes blink with interest as the conversation continues.)**

**L:** Are they going to be present as well?

**R:** Probably, the chair at least.

**Kiyone:** Who is the current chair of the Holy Council?

**R:** Lady Kamiki Seto.

**(A cold shot rushes down Ayeka's spine at that name, remembering the cold persimmon eyes behind clawed locks of chartreuse hair. Sagami glances to the princess, also recalling the face of the chairwoman hidden behind her ornate fan. Soon, the group reaches the doors, where the guards respectfully bow their heads and push open the great portal to the throne.)**

**(Within, pillars embossed with beautifully carved reliefs rise up to the canopy of leaves above. Opposite the door, the throne rests atop a tower of steps from the floor, where two gentlemen stand. Dressed in the white gi and hakama of Jurai's greatest warriors, these two hold staves with ornate headpieces, each with a colored orb focally placed. The elder of the two wears a full beard and the Juraian's Mark of Rage across his left cheek. Proud and wise, the Juraian knight Azaka stands in guard of his liege. The younger is clean-shaven, his crimson locks falling around his face with the Mark of Rage across his right cheek. Swift and gallant, the Juraian knight Kamidake keeps vigil for his king.)**

**(Seated upon the throne itself, Emperor Azusa II strokes his violet beard, his eyes closed in thought while a mature woman stands at his side. Lady Kamiki Seto, chairwoman of the Holy Council, turns her sly gaze down to the entering guests, her long hair descending in a great ponytail behind her. Both are dressed in the highest of Jurai's finery, reflecting their social status.)**

**(Azusa II raises his ruddy eyes to the group entering, his thoughts seeming distant. Seto fans herself, the paper device held just below her eyes as she examines the entrants with interest. Azaka and Kamidake both bow respectfully toward Ayeka, Sasami, and Yosho when they approach. The guests all kneel humbly at the base of the throne, awaiting the word of the emperor.)**

**(Raising his hand, Azusa II speaks firmly.)**

**Azusa II:** Rise.

**(At his word, the group rise to their feet before Ayeka speaks respectfully and nobly.)**

**Ayeka:** My emperor, thank you for allowing us this audience in this dangerous time.

**(Plainly, the ruler replies.)**

**Azusa II:** Considering the danger, it is appropriate that I speak with those who have experience in such dealings. Princess, you and your companions have faced this dark power thrice now. Please describe your impressions of this situation.

**Ayeka:** Very well, my emperor. As I understand, this NVO distortion is directed on an undeviating course for Earth. It's power has been estimated by the Science Academy to be far above the strength registered by Kain or the creatures and devices that have mimicked him.

**(Azusa II nods, understanding.)**

**Azusa II:** Yes, this has also been the report of my advisers. Please tell me what they cannot.

**(Seto eyes Ayeka coldly as the princess agrees and continues.)**

**Ayeka:** Those of us on Earth were able to defeat Kain in the year 1970. It was arduous, but we succeeded. Similarly, here on Jurai during the reunion, we turned back Liaens and his followers even after the Aelins reactor was used.

**(She glances to L and R, exchanging gazes with them.)**

**Ayeka:** In this current crisis, we have the support of the Terran extraterrestrial agency and their resources.

**(Her amethyst eyes turn next to Kiyone, who nods knowingly to her friend.)**

**Ayeka:** We have a trio of Galaxy Police detectives who have stood with us in these previous exchanges with the dark power.

**(Lastly, she turns to Yosho, who bows his head to her and the emperor.)**

**Ayeka:** Finally, there are those Juraians who have made Earth our home and are willing to stand.

**(The regal lady returns her attention to the emperor as she continues.)**

**Ayeka:** We have a chance to end this on Earth, my emperor. We have the knowledge. I ask for support, soldiers with Jurai's righteous power to destroy this threat before it can turn back to our homeworld.

**(Azusa II strokes his beard, his gaze shifting to Yosho. To the legendary warrior, the emperor directs his questions.)**

**Azusa II:** And you, Lord Yosho? What is your impression?

**(The Shinto priest advances a step, speaking respectfully and kindly.)**

**Yosho:** From what I've seen, this object is very strong and singly motivated to Earth. With all those who are on Earth and willing to defend it, there is a good chance that it can be stopped there, provided a little help.

**(The emperor glances to the trio of agents and officer.)**

**Azusa II:** And, the three of you?

**(Kiyone approaches a pace with a breath.)**

**Kiyone:** Having faced Kain and the creatures in Manhattan, we know their weaknesses. Jurai's power is the key, and with it, we should be able to win.

**(L concurs, standing at Kiyone's side.)**

**L:** Studying the remains of the chimera "Illirg" from Manhattan, I agree with Detective Makibi, sir. We know how to defeat this event. We only need a way to strike.

**(R motions toward Kiyone and L.)**

**R:** I've given you my reports, sir, and if anyone can make this happen, it's those on Earth now.

**(Azusa II lowers his head, pondering when Sasami also steps forward, speaking clearly and distinctly.)**

**Sasami:** My emperor.

**(The ruler regards the young princess oddly while Ayeka blinks in surprise at her sister's words.)**

**Sasami:** I am but a child and do not have the knowledge or experience to speak to either victory or defeat. However, I do know to what I have been witness.

**(Sagami and Kiyone watch Sasami speak, also amazed by her, as are Kiyone, L, and R.)**

**Sasami:** The Darkness has been defeated three times by those on Earth, in this room, and those now headed toward Ryua. They can turn it back a fourth time, with your help.

**(A proud smile appears on Ayeka's lips as she rests her hand on her sister's shoulder. The younger princess turns her attention to her sibling and grins at the affection. The others with her and the two great knights lay their proud and supportive expressions to the young princess. Azusa II lowers his head, considering these confident statements and pleas for aid.)**

**(Yet, Seto directs her scarlet gaze at him and speaks gravely, drawing the eyes of the room to her.)**

**Seto:** This is folly, my emperor.

**(Aghast, Ayeka and Sasami blink at the chairwoman's cold phrases. Yosho narrows his eyes at Seto while Sagami grips his fists at his sides. The two knights remain silent and stoic, though their eyes do betray distaste with her words. Kiyone, L, and R raise their brows while the Juraian lady continues.)**

**Seto:** Jurai should prepare herself for when this threat does return to our territory.

**(Azusa II strokes his beard when Ayeka advances to the first step of the throne, her voice pleading up to the ruler of her world.)**

**Ayeka:** This will protect Jurai, and Earth as well. Defeating the enemy elsewhere will keep danger away from the empire.

**(Seto folds her fan, revealing her mature beauty as she glances icily down at the princess.)**

**Seto:** Earth is not our concern, child.

**Ayeka:** But, we have a royal prince on Earth!

**(Through Ayeka's mind, Seto's voice sounds, deaf to all others in the room.)**

**Seto:** No... we don't... He is a mongrel... better left to his fate...

**(The chilling feeling returns to Ayeka when the woman's words continue in her head.)**

**Seto:** We need to protect Jurai... not Earth...

**(At this, Azusa II shakes his head and stands, his speech clear.)**

**Azusa II:** Lady Ayeka, while Masaki Tenchi is indeed a member of the Jurai royal family, our first obligation is to protect Jurai, not Earth.

**(Ayeka's heart drops hearing this while Seto opens her fan before her face, her eyes coldly set on the other lady. In her mind, Ayeka hears Seto's words once again.)**

**Seto:** Give up... child... There is no help for your here...

**(Taking a breath, the violet-tressed woman shakes her head and turns her eyes to Seto.)**

**Ayeka:** No, I will not give up.

**(The councilwoman narrows her eyes while Ayeka turns to the emperor and pleads once more.)**

**Ayeka:** My emperor, believe my words. The distortion can be stopped on Earth. We only need your help and support.

**(Seto's words race through Ayeka's mind.)**

**Seto:** No... our men are needed here... Stay if you want...

**(Azusa II sighs and shakes his head, pressing his fingertips along the ridge of his nose as if pressure were gathering.)**

**Azusa II:** No, Lady Ayeka. Our men need to protect our interests, not a distant world.

**(He lowers his hand and regards her plainly again.)**

**Azusa II:** I recommend you and your party stay here on Jurai until the danger passes for your own safety. However, I will not be sending troops of any kind to Earth.

**(Helpless and defeated, Ayeka lowers her eyes before she bows to the emperor and thanks him for his consideration. Behind her fan, a victorious smile crosses her lips. Below, worry and uneasiness mingle among the members of Ayeka's party. Sagami turns his sympathetic eyes to Ayeka as she walks back to them. Yosho rests his hand on her shoulder supportively while they discuss their next move. Azaka and Kamidake both close their eyes, quietly respecting the princess's effort. However, Sasami's eyes center squarely on Seto, regarding her with a knowing gaze.)**

Scene 5 – Current Data

**(The grey deck of Mitsuki's patrol-ship shakes beneath the diagnostic table of her infirmary. Here, the three grey and black keys of Kagato and his two minions rest, encircled by glowing green rings. Each key silently submits to the passive scans, their intricate, throned design highlighted by the dull light.)**

**(Nearby, Washu sits atop her floating cushion, her eyes narrowed at the data streaming across her phantom laptop. Resting her cheek on her palm, the genius eying a bar graph and a pie graph set opposing one another on her screen. Labeled "Aether", "Luminous", "Thermal", and others, these bars and sectors remain relatively short and narrow compared to two more prominent labels: "Jurai" and "NVO". In particular, the pie graph registers these as "Jurai: 80%" and "NVO: 15%". The bar graph shows them as "Jurai: 4.20E+003 J" and "NVO: 7.88E+002 J".)**

**(Nearby, a door slides aside, allowing an entrant within the walls. Washu blinks and maintains her gaze upon her gages while the female figure approaches, adjusting the cuffs of her sleeves. Nonchalantly, the genius speaks to the this guest.)**

**Washu:** Haven't seen you in that for a long time, Ryoko.

**(Stopping at the scientist's side, Ryoko's eyes settle on the data graphs as well, her body clothed in her black and red battle costume. The crimson flames of her garb blaze along her arms against the onyx-colored remainder of the attire. The former pirate considers the data, stiffly replying to the comment.)**

**Ryoko:** Whatever, Washu. Why are you tinkering with these things anyway?

**(Washu coolly extends her index finger to the NVO pie sector, gaining Ryoko's attention.)**

**Washu:** That's why.

**(The taller woman narrows her eyes confusedly.)**

**Ryoko:** NVO? How's that? These are Juraian keys, like Tenchi's sword and Ayeka's little crown.

**(The researcher nods, her brows raising with her breath.)**

**Washu:** Yes, and no. Their properties and design are very much like those of Tenchi and Ayeka's, but there are some notable differences.

**Ryoko:** Like what?

**(Washu points to the sword key and glances to Ryoko.)**

**Washu:** Pick it up.

**(Addled, the former pirate questions her peer.)**

**Ryoko:** 'Scuse me?

**Washu:** Yes, take it in your hand. You'll see what I mean.

**(Carefully, Ryoko extends her hand to the twisted hilt and takes it into her grasp. As she raises it before her, the device responds by opening its guard, sparking a surprised interest in the holder. Washu nods, her suspicions confirmed.)**

**Washu:** Like I thought. It willingly responds to Ryoan presence. Juraian keys don't usually do that, until you're Juraian royalty.

**(Confused, Ryoko's brow rises.)**

**Ryoko:** Then, what's with this thing?

**(The genius chuckles with a grin.)**

**Washu:** It _likes_ you, Ryoko.

**(Ryoko sneers in reply.)**

**Ryoko:** Dammit, Washu!

**(With a scoff, Washu explains.)**

**Washu:** These keys are indeed made to look like Tenchi and Ayeka's and work much the same. If you channel your power through it, I'm sure you'll have Kagato's sword in your hand.

**(The yellow, feline eyes turn back to the hilt curiously. The black mark scrawls down the right side of her face when a burst of crimson light ignites from the weapon. At first, the energy coalesces as her katana edge, but an ebony aura surrounds it and molds the blade into a broader edge. The blade resembles Kagato's version, though somewhat smaller in size and with the colors reversed. Washu continues.)**

**Washu:** While Kagato was in power, some overheard him talking of a "Darkness of the Universe", a place of a "pain worse than Death itself". He claimed that was where he heightened his Jurai power before returning to take the throne for himself.

**(Ryoko's eyes narrow at the vile blade, feeling once more the concentric rings that pierced her side three years ago. Her fist grips tightly around the hilt while the scientist speaks.)**

**Washu:** This seems to point at Kagato having contact or training with NVO energy before his coup d'etat on Jurai. The same is probably true of his two knights as well, given their staves.

**(With a heavy sigh, Ryoko directs her irritated gaze back to the researcher.)**

**Ryoko:** What's the point, Washu? I'm not going to use this thing. Besides the fact that I hate this bastard, it isn't exactly working for me. See?

**(The blade of the sword widens a small amount while a concentration crosses the former pirate's eyes. Taking a breath, the taller woman lets the blade vanish before returning her eyes to Washu. The genius nods, watching the black mark fade from Ryoko's face.)**

**Washu:** Yeah, I know.

**(She points back to her charts, listing the "Jurai: 80%".)**

**Washu:** This thing _was_ designed for a Juraian to use. It wouldn't take much to flush that and make it more operable for a Ryoan.

**(She grins, considering the possibility.)**

**Washu:** Actually, it'd probably work better for you than Kagato.

**(With a confused gaze, Ryoko inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** How do you figure?

**Washu:** It's a running theory I have. Somehow, Ryoan energies have some connection to the NVO type.

**(She motions to the sword hilt in Ryoko's hand.)**

**Washu:** Your little demonstration with Kagato's sword shows as much, but think about why we're on this ship. That large distortion of NVO nature came from Ryua, our homeworld.

**(At this, Ryoko tosses the sword hilt aside, the guard closing as it falls. The device clatters next to the two staves while the former pirate glares at the scientist.)**

**Ryoko:** That would say that we're connected to Kain too.

**(With a shrug, Washu concurs.)**

**Washu:** If the spectrum fits.

**(However, she thoughtfully adds with a sly eye to her comrade.)**

**Washu:** But, it would explain why a Ryoan priest would have interest in that bounty hunter, seeing as these were on his fighter.

**(The yellow eyes meet their green counterparts in a silent exchange of understanding. Mitsuki's voice sounds over the public address system, stealing their attention.)**

**Mitsuki:** We're about to come out of this fold. We should be at Ryua soon.

**(With these words, Ryoko turns back toward the door, commenting.)**

**Ryoko:** We'll find out for sure here soon.

**(While she phases through the door, the grey Galaxy Police patrol-ship rockets through a cylindrical shell of warped stars and galaxies, each streaking past like a flash of light. Ahead, a conical point awaits the craft's approach, glowing a brilliant white.)**

**(As the vessel nears, the point widens into a disc large enough to envelop the ship. Within moments, the light dims to reveal a planet hanging against the star-studded tapestry of existence. This grey and blue gem of a world is encircled by several artificial satellites, each bearing the insignia of the Galaxy Police. Further, several heavy GP craft patrol the region near the orb, the light of the distant orange star gleaming off their hulls.)**

**(Mitsuki's ship passes through this disc, entering the space around this planet, Ryua. Behind, the streaked tunnel collapses and vanishes from sight while one of the patrolling GP craft approaches. In her cockpit, Mitsuki pushes aside a few strands of her red hair as J pops his neck, glancing at the planet before him. A translucent display appears before the liaison officer, and from it, a young GP officer questions her.)**

**Officer:** Patrol-ship Hayato, state your destination and business.

**(Mitsuki nods and answers formally.)**

**Mitsuki:** This is Matsu Mitsuki, Terran liaison officer. I'm here with a representative of Earth in regard to the distortion heading for Earth.

**(The young man's brow rises while he glances to J.)**

**Officer:** The distortion? How does this involve Ryua?

**(J answers, mimicking Mitsuki's formalism.)**

**J:** We have reason to believe that its point of origin is Ryua.

**(The officer narrows his eyes and regards the MiB agent with disdain.)**

**Officer:** I hardly believe that a distant and underdeveloped world like Earth would be of significance to a planet with enough problems of its own.

**(A slight scowl crosses J's eyes as Mitsuki impatiently clacks her metal fingers against her seat.)**

**Mitsuki:** Officer, I'm not here to argue your opinions. I'm here to investigate the cause of major loss of property and a threat to two galactic nations' security, if not stop it.

**(The officer sighs and shakes his head.)**

**Officer:** Very well. However, I don't believe you will find anything more than a few pirates. That distortion was never sighted here. If it had, there would have been an investigation already.

**Mitsuki:** I'll keep that in mind.

**(The display winks into nothingness while J glares over to Mitsuki.)**

**J:** Does the GP only hire cynical assholes?

**(The liaison officer rolls her eyes and answers.)**

**Mitsuki:** We can't all be Makibi Kiyone.

**(Ryoko phases through the door and gazes down at the planet, the sight causing her pause. J turns to her and notices this, curiously regarding her thoughtful expression. The door then opens, allowing Washu to enter with Ryo-Ohki hopping along behind her heels. The cabbit leaps up to Ryoko's shoulder, breaking the reflective moment as Washu comments.)**

**Washu:** Here we are.

**(Mitsuki nods.)**

**Mitsuki:** Yeah, though there were no reports of the distortion in this region of space.

**(Ryo-Ohki mews somberly to her mistress, who silently acknowledges the sentiment with a few strokes of her brown coat. Washu raises her hand, summoning her phantom laptop. With a few keystrokes, a display panel appears before the group showing the solar system around them with the distortion's extrapolated trajectory. All watch while several points are marked throughout the Ryoan system along the path.)**

**Washu:** Alright. Then, how do they explain that several of their own satellites needing their ethereal sensor and power cell replaced within the last few days?

**(J scoffs and folds his arms.)**

**J:** They'd probably chalk it up to the pirates. It seems to be their theme around here.

**(Ryoko eyes J coldly and agrees.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, it is.

**(Mitsuki rests her cheek in her human hand and inquires.)**

**Mitsuki:** Alright. Then, where do we begin? This is a fair-sized planet to cover with just four people.

**(Washu taps a few more keys, a cone extending from the end of the current trajectory display down toward the planet. The genius explains, pointing at the cone.)**

**Washu:** Given the rate and locations at which these satellites sent their requests for repairs and compensating for acceleration, I project this as the possible launch sites for the distortion. Though...

**(She enters a couple more commands, and the cone tightens, its base region shrinking.)**

**Washu:** ... taking into account that the general population isn't aware of its existence, I can rule out areas with a high density of people. That just leaves this area here.

**(Mitsuki cocks her head to the side examining the image as it zooms on the region and flattens into a Cartesian projection map. Here, notable locations and nearby cities are clearly marked in both Juraiji and English. J rests his fist against his lips, skimming over the names as he considers these possibilities. However, Ryoko's sharp eyes quickly find one place among the others, labeled "Matronic Temple". In her memory, the former pirate recalls Ayeka's words.)**

**Ayeka:** The Mother of Darkness... antithesis of the Woman of Mystery, associated with darkness, fire, and death... with Ryua and its crystals.

**(Certain, she points to this location and states.)**

**Ryoko:** There. That's where we start.

**(Mitsuki blinks at this choice and questions it.)**

**Mitsuki:** There? It's nothing but a stone edifice.

**(Washu glances to Ryoko with a knowing gaze before Ryoko nods her head and retorts.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, a stone edifice where the people inside are still allowed to use their powers.

**(Mitsuki considers this while J furrows his brows in thought.)**

**J:** Why aren't they allowed to use their abilities? After all, the two of you do.

**(He motions toward Ryoko and Washu, and the genius closes her eyes, answering plainly.)**

**Washu:** When Jurai conquered Ryua, they enforced a ban on Ryoan powers to prevent an uprising.

**(Waving to herself, she continues.)**

**Washu:** Some of us were allowed to keep our abilities for research purposes.

**(She waves toward Ryoko, who glances back.)**

**Washu:** Some ignored the law.

**(Lowering her arm, she concludes, her eyes on the display.)**

**Washu:** And, some were allowed their powers for "cultural use".

**(Mitsuki tentatively agrees.)**

**Mitsuki:** That's true, though even that location is heavily monitored by the GP.

**(J shakes his head.)**

**J:** Nah, look at the other locations.

**(He points at a couple, reading the name of each.)**

**J:** Residence... orphanage... power exchange... None of the others have any real meaning. That power exchange or the power plant might, but even then, they're on the outskirts of this area.

**(Sarcastically, he points to the orphanage and adds.)**

**J:** And, I really doubt they launched a big ball of darkness from a state-run orphanage.

**(Accepting this, Mitsuki retorts her Terran counterpart.)**

**Mitsuki:** Alright. So, how do we get in? Most religious sites don't give a full tour at the flash of a badge.

**(Ryoko nods, her eyes centering on the location.)**

**Ryoko:** Like every good heist, you go in the back.

Scene 6 – Complications

**(On the surface of Ryua, the sun sets behind a row of buildings, casting a long silhouette into a shallow valley nearby. Composed of crystal, these homes protect their occupants against the slight chill of the coming night. Within the valley, a single great structure rises from the soil, its marble walls carved intricately with reliefs of great men and their prismatic vessels.)**

**(A well-worn path winds down from the homes to this edifice, the Ryoan Matronic Temple. Two figures approach the temple along the path, a man and a woman. The dark-skinned male is dressed in a white shirt with a loud-colored jacket, as well as baggy blue pants. Upon his head, a denim cap is spun to the side at an odd angle with respect to his face, a once popular style on Earth in the 1990s. The female's red hair cups around her smiling, cute expression. Dressed in a simple dress, she accompanies her companion to the doors of the temple.)**

**(When the two arrive, the great doors swing open, allowing one cat-eyed Ryoan man to step out. Attired simply in a black jacket and slack pants, this gentleman blinks curiously at the pair standing before him. He shakes his spiked locks and addresses them respectfully.)**

**Ryoan:** Hello, travelers. Do you have some business here?

**(With J's voice, the man replies in the colloquial.)**

**J:** You sure can, homes. Aunt Wyv here always wanted to see a big ole Rian temple.

**(The woman grins wryly, adding in Mitsuki's voice.)**

**Mitsuki:** That's "Ryoan", Bill...

**(The Ryoan furrows his brows, confused by the two as he glances from one to the other.)**

**Ryoan:** You're... his aunt?

**(Mitsuki confirms this quietly.)**

**Mitsuki:** By marriage.

**(J steps forward, looming over the Ryoan with a menacing expression.)**

**J:** Gotta problem with mixed marriage?

**(The extraterrestrial priest sweats a bit and shakes his head, replying.)**

**Ryoan:** Oh, no no.

**(The concealed MiB agent then shrugs and grins pleasantly.)**

**J:** Great. So, what's this place like? Hmm?

**(He tries to peek around the doorman, but the cleric rests his hands on J's chest and gently holds him back. J jumps back and exclaims.)**

**J:** Hey hey hey, man! What're you trying to do?!

**(The guard raises his hands, attempting to placate the other man.)**

**Ryoan:** We are honored you would like to visit out temple, but...

**(J interrupts.)**

**J:** Then, let's see it. Me and Aunt Wyv have heard a lot about your fine wing stop.

**(The Ryoan blinks in horrible disgust while Mitsuki blushes and steps forward to explain.)**

**Mitsuki:** Sir, my sister recently sent her son to live with my family, and I thought he could use some culture.

**(He glances to J and comments softly.)**

**Ryoan:** Really?

**(Plainly, the MiB agent shrugs and comments.)**

**J:** Well, I got in one little fight, and my mom got scared and said, "You're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-"

**(The Ryoan rests his forehead in his hand and interjects.)**

**Ryoan:** I am sorry, but we're not accepting any visitors.

**(Open his arms wide, J questions the man.)**

**J:** Come on, man! We came a long way. Help a brother out.

**(With a sigh, the priest shakes his head.)**

**Ryoan:** I'm sorry, but we are not brothers. You cannot enter at this time.

**J:** Dude, seriously. It won't take but a bit.

**(J approaches the door again, and the cleric narrows his eyes, thrusting his arm across J's path. Coldly, the man speaks.)**

**Ryoan:** I will call security if you do not desist.

**(The MiB agent folds his arms and counters this demand.)**

**J:** Yeah, alright. Call your boys down here.

**(He takes a step away and comments under his breath.)**

**J:** Pasty-ass choirboy...

**(Mitsuki grimaces while the Ryoan man depresses a key near the door and addresses a nearby panel.)**

**Ryoan:** We have a situation here.

**(Elsewhere, near the rear of the grand temple, two similar Ryoan men stand near a side-entrance to the building. However, they soon press two fingers near their respective left ears and listen to instructions. Shortly afterward, the two vanish, teleported away from the location with a whoosh of incoming air. )**

**(Soon, another draft of air precedes the appearance of Ryoko and Washu. Ryo-Ohki glances around from her perch atop Washu's shoulder, checking the nearby area. With a wave of her hand, Washu's ethereal laptop materializes, where she keys several commands. A loud clack is heard before the door loosely swings open for them. The three rush inside before the door shuts and locks behind them.)**

**(Within the temple, Ryo-Ohki gazes around the chiseled stone, curiously observing the artistic renderings around her. Many of these depict Ryoan warriors brandishing their katana-like energy swords top the crystalline Ohki vessels they pilot. Opposite them in this darkened corridor, the tree-ships of Jurai return fire in the epic relief, their warriors wielding staves and blades of their own.)**

**(Ryoko glances to these briefly before turning to Washu's fingers dance on her keyboard. On the screen a floor plan schematic of the complex appears, along with a static blue dot and a pulsing, scarlet point several corridors away. The former pirate inquires softly.)**

**Ryoko:** How long do we have?

**(Seriously, Washu replies.)**

**Washu:** Twenty-eight minutes. After that, the looped feed in their monitoring systems will end.

**Ryoko:** Security?

**(The scientist places two fingers on her display and slides them downward, scrolling the image to show a bevy of small red dots surrounding two white ones at the front of the structure.)**

**Washu:** J and Mitsuki have them occupied out front.

**(Ryoko points toward the pulsing point and inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** And that?

**(Washu taps the point, causing a small window of data to appear at the side of the screen. Skimming the list, the researcher reads the highlights.)**

**Washu:** It's a mobile source of NVO energy, quite concentrated. There's also a life-form nearby as well. Apparently, he's quite fit, and excited, from the looks of his biometrics.

**Ryoko:** Anything else?

**(She slides the image about her screen, her analytic green eyes checking the minutiae of the information before her. Many of the translucent blue walls have a line of red passing through them, but she stops the image on a particular room, colored an opaque black. With two taps of her finger, an information window appears, displaying absolutely no data.)**

**Washu:** Most of the walls have phase detection, but this room here seems shielded completely.

**(Washu rubs her chin, considering the information before her while Ryoko steps to an interior door, her gaze grave and cool.)**

**Washu:** The NVO source is a bit small to be the source of the distortion, though it might be residual from the initial reaction. The shielded room could anything, particularly if it's linked to a pocket dimension.

**(Ryoko nods, her decision made.)**

**Ryoko:** The source it is. That's the only sure thing so far.

**(Lowering her arm, Washu dissipates her laptop and agrees with Ryoko silently. The former pirate extends her hand to the door, her hand phasing into the lock system. Closing her eyes, the skilled thief concentrates, her fluxed digits manipulating the tumblers from inside. The scientist nods with a subtle grin.)**

**Washu:** Nice trick.

**(The lock clacks open as the ex-criminal removes her appendage from the structure, with a comment.)**

**Ryoko:** I was a pirate after all.

**(The two advance to an atrium where a pair of fountains oppose one another, their waters flowing and babbling calmly. Close to each, a plant rises from the potted soil, composed of lucid, crimson gems. However, Ryo-Ohki mews to her mistress, who tenses with the short words.)**

**Ryoko:** Someone's coming!

**(Washu motions to the far wall, spurring her associate to grab her arm and rush at the wall. The trio phase through the structure as two Ryoan clerics pass into the atrium, discussing a recent theatrical scene. Within the wall, a major air conditioning duct winds between the plumbing and wiring. Here, Ryoko, Washu, and Ryo-Ohki re-substantiate, though the taller and more voluptuous is crammed.)**

**(While Ryoko wiggles trying to find some comfortable position, Washu points ahead of her and whispers.)**

**Washu:** There are a couple of vents from this main line into the chamber where that source was located.

**(The former pirate scoffs and shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** At least that's a break...

**(Together, the group crawl through the duct, passing vents attached to several branch rooms. In these rooms, the Ryoan priests sit and discuss various topics, primarily their writings, the "Matron", and the plight of pirates from their world. Though Ryoko ignores this and continues forward, Washu lends an ear, overhearing several key phrases.)**

**Cleric 1:** ... The Lady herself chose him...

**Cleric 2:** ... He's also a monster...

**Cleric 3:** ... The pirates will turn back to her in time...

**Cleric 4:** ... We'll just breed them out if need be...

**Cleric 5:** ... It is written that she will avenge our losses...

**Cleric 6:** ... My faith hasn't wavered about that...

**(Soon, these voices fade into babble as they near the source's location. In their place, the hum and swing of an energy blade are heard, drawing confused looks from all three of the party members. Reaching their destination, Ryoko gazes long through the grate of the vent while Washu and Ryo-Ohki peek through another one close behind her.)**

**(Below them, amongst a colonnaded hall and pyres burning brightly, a single man follows Death's dance with a sword in hand. His black blade of power swings through his hands with a practiced ease. Long, raven locks fall around his head, much like a cowl framing his grey, feline eyes. A twisted glee crosses his face as his booted feet leave the ground, continuing his imaginary battle in the air. Around his body, a bladed armor of blood and earth glide fluidly, contributing to the brutality he would unleash to a real enemy.)**

**(Confusedly blinking, Ryoko whispers back to Washu, who has manifested her laptop and types into the device.)**

**Ryoko:** Is that...?

**(The scientist nods)**

**Washu:** NVO type energy. He is the source we were detecting.

**(Furrowing her brows, Ryoko questions again.)**

**Ryoko:** How?

**(The genius watches data scroll along her screen and shakes her head.)**

**Washu:** I'm not sure at the moment, but he is bonded to the power, much like you or me.

**(As the man dives to the floor with a killing stroke, she adds.)**

**Washu:** And, I don't think he's the type to give information willingly.

**(Ryoko takes a slow breath and sighs, closing her eyes. Ryo-Ohki mews worriedly, gaining Washu's attention to her companion's serious demeanor. The scientist shakes her head, waving her computer aside.)**

**Washu:** I hope you're not thinking...

**(Immediately, Ryoko interrupts with her answer.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm not, Washu. I have another idea.

**(Curious, Washu asks.)**

**Washu:** Oh? What, might I ask?

**(Opening her eyes, the former pirate starts to shuffle forward, her golden eyes set ahead.)**

**Ryoko:** Checking with the higher-ups.

**(Washu follows Ryoko a few meters farther through the duct to another set of vents. Here, Ryoko forms her blade and cuts through the exterior of the duct, creating a make-shift door. She bends it outward and slips out, her flight ability slowing her descent and letting her land on her feet. Washu does likewise, both her and Ryo-Ohki glancing about the room. )**

**(Before them, a desk stands with several open folders, as well as several full bookcases of texts and papers. The regal violet drapes are drawn, keeping the room cloaked in darkness. On the floor, an ornately woven tapestry depicts a mighty blaze, and at its heart stands a single woman enveloped in the flames.)**

**(Washu extends her hand, summoning her computer and checking the floor plan while Ryoko immediately goes to the documents on the table. The scientist quickly notes the red perforations in the diagram's walls as Ryoko recognizes the "GP" logo on the documents. Each sheet has a still image of the distortion and readings of its NVO output as it has traversed its course to Earth. The former pirate narrows her eyes into a scowl before Washu spins back to her.)**

**Washu:** This room is walled in by phase detectors. We'll either have to go through the ducts again, or walk out the front door.

**(Ryoko takes some pages in hand and slaps them down on the desk, scattering some of them with her growing anger.)**

**Ryoko:** The son of a _bitch_! He's been _tracking_ it.

**(Washu slides to her side and skims the documents herself, a concern growing in her thoughts.)**

**Washu:** Indeed he has. However, none of these have any data on its origin or control.

**(Ryo-Ohki mews sadly to her mistress, who glances to the side with a tight fist at her waist. The researcher regards her ally curiously when the cabbit sniffs the air and mews urgently. Ryoko glances back toward them and then to the door. She motions to the desk, her voice whispered.)**

**Ryoko:** Under the desk...! Now...!

**(Washu slips from sight under the table with Ryo-Ohki while Ryoko steps next to a bookcase, disappearing into the shadows. The door to the room opens, allowing a single Ryoan cleric into the room. His tan-colored hair spikes around his violet eyes, his gaze in distant thought. Garbed in a scarlet variant of the other priests' robes, this middle-aged man sighs and rests a hand against the door frame before he steps into the room proper.)**

**(Yet, he soon blinks at the shuffled papers on his desk, bringing a caution to his face. His gaze then rises to the ceiling, noting the sliced duct. Carefully, he enters and allows the door to close behind him. Approaching the desk, he notes the particular pages which have been moved. Glancing away from the bookcase's shadow, the man starts to speak, until the hum of a crimson katana starts near his right ear.)**

**(Slightly taller than Ryoko, this priest slowly faces straight ahead, unable to see her from the corner of his eye. He starts to turn to face her, but she edges her sword closer, whispering.)**

**Ryoko:** Face front.

**(Hearing her voice, a confused blink flaps over his eyes.)**

**Cardinal:** Ryoko...?

**(Kicking the table, the former pirate accuses him.)**

**Ryoko:** What have you started, you jackass?

**(Beneath the table, Washu and Ryo-Ohki listen to the man's words as he sighs heavily and answers, frustration evident.)**

**Cardinal:** I haven't started anything, little girl.

**(She barks at him, her disbelief obvious.)**

**Ryoko:** Liar! You bastards sent this damned thing to Earth.

**Cardinal:** We did nothing of the like.

**(Her sword nears his throat, her words boiling with an old hate and anger.)**

**Ryoko:** It came from right here. You've been watching it. It's fucking _yours_!

**(He leers to the side, musing.)**

**Cardinal:** Even if it was, what is it to you?

**Ryoko:** Turn it around.

**(His eyes narrow coldly.)**

**Cardinal:** The rumors were true. You have a man there. A Juraian prince, correct?

**(She bares her teeth, her gaze burning.)**

**Ryoko:** I said, "_Turn it around_", goddammit!

**(The hum of another blade edges next to Ryoko's throat as alarms start to blare around the temple. Glancing carefully to the side, she notes the black sword of the lone dark warrior next to her neck. Slowly, she draws her katana away from the cardinal's neck, allowing him to take a slow breath and turn back to face her. Plainly and icily, he replies to her previous command.)**

**Cardinal:** I can't turn it around, girl. No one can.

**(Silently, her eyes carve a hole through his face with her furious gaze. Beneath the table, Washu muffles Ryo-Ohki's mews as the cabbit struggles to help her mistress. The genius listens, hearing warrior speak his haughty tone.)**

**Warrior:** You have a feisty niece, Shinya.

**(A disgust betrays itself in Cardinal Shinya Ryua's voice.)**

**Shinya:** Leon Tae, she's a pirate's daughter.

**(Ryoko's lip curls in a similar emotion while he finishes his comment.)**

**Shinya:** Breaking the rules is all they know.

**(Leon's free hand nears her hair, and she turns her head from him, careful to avoid the blade near her throat. With a sickening grin, he glances to Shinya.)**

**Leon:** Then, shall we break some rules as well?

**(The cardinal sternly shakes his head and replies.)**

**Shinya:** No, she has another purpose.

**(Leon chuckles to himself while Ryoko eyes her uncle, her spite for him laid plain in her eyes. Meanwhile, Ayeka's voice narrates.)**

**Ayeka:** Hope seemed to wane this day, with failure both on Jurai and Ryua.

**(Outside the temple, Mitsuki and J are taken into custody by the priests and lead into its stone walls. However, a short distance away, a young woman wearing a black habit skirts the proximity of the temple.)**

**Ayeka:** Though we were not lost yet, the Darkness could be seen closing on each of us...

**(A priest exits one of the side entrances to the building and addresses the woman. Her crimson eyes glance side to side, noting no witnesses in either direction. In a deft stroke, she pushes her hand into a rather wide pocket and produces a yellow rapier-like weapon. Before he can fully gasp, her blade has punched through his abdomen, killing him.)**

**(She quickly draws her sword from him and swipes the blood from its length. Sheathing it beneath the habit, she rushes inside the door, the light within exposing her face to be that of the bounty hunter Nagi, Ryoko's arch-nemesis.)**

**Ayeka:** And also, attracting others to our plight.


	4. Act 4

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! are copyrighted to  
AIC, BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted to Sony Pictures

Act 4Scene 1 – The Hands That Will Help

**(Within the hallowed halls of the Jurai palace, a pair pass through the tense royalty. Ayeka Jurai sighs softly, her kimono flowing around her as she glides swiftly alongside her escort. Sagami Jurai rests a hand on his companion's shoulder, offering a few supportive words.)**

**Sagami:** This is hardly the end, Ayeka.

**(Her eyes close, her reply quiet.)**

**Ayeka:** I know that, Sagami, but had he only listened...

**(The young captain stops and places his free hand on her other shoulder. Concerned, he questions her.)**

**Sagami:** Are you certain about this, Ayeka? I can understand the others, but you...

**(Gently, she sets her touch to his wrists and pushes his grip away, answering.)**

**Ayeka:** I'm no longer crown princess, Sagami.

**(Her amethyst gaze opens and meets the brown of his eyes.)**

**Ayeka:** Earth is my home now, and I belong there.

**(A moment passes between the two before he nods slowly.)**

**Sagami:** As you wish, princess.

**(Spinning back toward the corridor, Ayeka continues forward with Sagami close behind. Before them, a great arch allows silvery moonlight to fall upon the two Juraians. Outside, Yagami rests upon the landing pad, supported by the mooring beams. Beneath, Kiyone and L stand with Yosho awaiting the pair's arrival. These three approach their friends as Ayeka and Sagami near. The grandfather speaks gravely to the noble lady.)**

**Yosho:** So, he ignored you still?

**(The group of five gathers together as the young woman replies somberly.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, all five times I mentioned it.

**(Kiyone raises her fingers to her lips, recalling the meeting with the emperor, and the council chair.)**

**Kiyone:** It's odd that the council chair had that much influence.

**(L agrees.)**

**L:** True, though I can't completely fault his decision.

**Yosho:** It is suspicious, but we have other matters before us.

**(Together, the group concurs.)**

**Kiyone:** He's right. It'll have to wait until after we handle the situation on Earth.

**(Seriously, L turns her attention to Ayeka.)**

**L:** Are you sure you want to go back with us?

**(The princess nods, the young captain smirking with his own comment.)**

**Sagami:** I've already tried to talk her out of it.

**Ayeka:** Earth has become my home as well.

**(She glances to Yosho, who meets her certain gaze.)**

**Ayeka:** That is where I belong.

**(Kiyone steps forward, a concern on her voice.)**

**Kiyone:** What about Sasami?

**(With a shake of her violet tresses, the princess replies.)**

**Ayeka:** She needs to be out of danger. While I met again with the emperor, I sent her to the House Juraihelm.

**Sagami:** Ramia's family?

**(She nods.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, to see her brother Rumiya. They've known one another since they were small.

**(Her eyes lower in her speech.)**

**Ayeka:** I know it was deceptive, but...

**(Yosho pats her shoulder, reassurance in his words.)**

**Yosho:** Any of us would do the same.

**(Kiyone agrees, a soft smile of her own.)**

**Kiyone:** You're her big sister, Ayeka. It's not a crime to keep her safe.

**(Ayeka's eyes rise to meet Kiyone's while L adds.)**

**L:** She'll forgive you. Don't worry.

**(With a nod, the princess accepts this, though the other voice in her mind whispers, a grin hidden in those words.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** Of course she will... for keeping her away from... danger...

**(The lady nods, acknowledging these words. With a thoughtful smile, L questions Yosho.)**

**L:** It's rather plain that you're going back.

**(Plainly, he answers her.)**

**Yosho:** You and Kiyone have your duty, and Ayeka her home, as do I.

**(Kiyone motions to Sagami, querying him.)**

**Kiyone:** What about you, Sagami? You helped us before.

**(With a grave shake of his head, the captain replies.)**

**Sagami:** I would like to join you, but my ship Chizuru has been assigned to safeguard Jurai. I have to stay with my crew.

**(She extends her hand, which he grips with a shake.)**

**Kiyone:** Best of luck, captain.

**(He grins to himself.)**

**Sagami:** I hope I won't need it.

**(He releases her hand and shakes L's hand as well.)**

**Sagami:** All of you...

**(He faces Ayeka and Yosho before he bows respectfully to them.)**

**Sagami:** Take care.

**(These two reciprocate the gesture to the young captain. As they rise, he adds.)**

**Sagami:** I'll also keep trying to reach the emperor.

**(Ayeka bows to him again, a pleasant look to her eyes.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you again, Sagami.

**(After the princess stands straight once more, a lady's voice calls to her from the arch of the palace.)**

**Lady:** Lady Ayeka.

**(The amethyst gaze spins to the archway to see a regal young woman approaching. Dressed in white armor with an embossed Juraian crest, she tosses her ruby locks aside to reveal her amber eyes. Beneath her plate, a simple kimono flows around her legs and arms, the sleeves attached to rings on her middle fingers. Captain Ramia Juraihelm regards Ayeka, the officer's focus set on the lady.)**

**(The princess blinks with surprise as two other figures emerge behind the lady captain. With her, Azaka and Kamidake, the two royal knights, proceed forward, their staff keys in hand. Soon, this trio join those already assembled, a question rising from the princess.)**

**Ayeka:** ... Ramia? What...?

**(Ramia waves the inquiry aside with her answer.)**

**Ramia:** Just doing my part.

**(She bows gently while the two men with her bow respectfully to Ayeka and Yosho, their words stoic.)**

**Azaka:** Princess, we request that we join your party in your return to Earth.

**Kamidake:** We offer our strength and experience to your cause, princess.

**(A hope shines in the gazes of Kiyone and L while the grandfather nods, knowingly. Ayeka approaches the pair, considering their words.)**

**Ayeka:** Azaka... Kamidake...

**(She passes Sagami, who grins to his colleague Ramia as she rises to face him. Azaka speaks nobly, standing with his partner.)**

**Azaka:** We were already considering joining you.

**Kamidake:** However, Lady Ramia spoke with us and convinced us to proceed.

**(Ayeka glances to Ramia, who grins softly.)**

**Azaka:** While her ship has been assigned to protect Jurai, we have not.

**Kamidake:** We are still free to join your cause.

**(A joy enters Ayeka's eyes, though she is careful with her words.)**

**Ayeka:** I thank you both. However, this strategy may still not be successful.

**Azaka:** We appreciate your concern, princess, but we agree that ending this threat on Earth is a better plan.

**Kamidake:** Also, our place is on the field of battle, just like with your ancestor, the first emperor.

**(She closes her eyes, a smile forcing through her lips as she bows to them.)**

**Ayeka:** On behalf of us all, thank you both.

**(Kiyone, Yosho, and L lower into bows with her as the two knights reciprocate this gesture.)**

**Azaka & Kamidake:** The honor is ours, princess.

**(The group rises while Ramia speaks.)**

**Ramia:** We will handle the home-front defense.

**(Sagami nods and adds.)**

**Sagami:** And, we'll try to get you more help as well.

**(Grateful, the princess nods.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you all.

**(Sagami and Ramia stand aside while the others turn toward Yagami's boarding tube. However, aboard the ship, someone watches this scene upon one of the ship's cockpit monitors. Cooly, Sasami Jurai's young eyes witness those returning to Earth stepping into the craft. Silently, she turns away and disappears into the ship.)**

Scene 2 – Dark Witness

**(The bulkheads of Yagami shake as the Galaxy Police patrol-ship shoots through the corridor of warped space. Within the cargo bay, Ayeka kneels in seiza with Yosho and the two knights of the first court. Azaka strokes his beard in thought while Kamidake glances at the bare floor, his mind also pondering.)**

**Azaka:** So, we have only three vessels: this Yagami, the patrol-ship of Officer Matsu, and Ryoko's Ryo-Ohki.

**(Yosho nods, affirming this.)**

**Yosho:** Indeed.

**Azaka:** And, only we four and Lord Tenchi carry Jurai's Power.

**(Ayeka concurs, her eyes lowered and somber.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, though Washu has said she can emulate it as she did against Kain...

**(She pauses, remembering the researcher's proposal.)**

**Ayeka:** ... merging it with a dimensional cannon... making a horrible weapon...

**(Both knights raise their eyes, blinking in surprise.)**

**Kamidake:** She can do such a thing?

**(Silently, the princess nods while Yosho speaks calmly, his violet eyes steady.)**

**Yosho:** It is not a pleasant idea, but perhaps necessary if the five of us are not enough to handle the enemy.

**(Gravely, Azaka concurs, though Kamidake's head shakes slowly.)**

**Kamidake:** I would not believe that the life of our world could be fused with technology in that way, let alone allowed to be.

**Yosho:** Unfortunately, desperate times often force the unthinkable.

**(Clashes of swords and staves fill the young knight's mind as he accepts this statement. Ayeka's words ascend with a question.)**

**Ayeka:** What of Ryoko or Washu's abilities? Could they have some impact on the enemy?

**(Azaka quickly shakes his head with his answer.)**

**Azaka:** I do not believe so, princess.

**Ayeka:** Why not?

**(Gravely, the azure knight relates his reasoning.)**

**Azaka:** During the Ryo-Jurai War, there were those on Ryua who wielded a dark power. They were known as the Zealots of the Dark Matron.

**(A chill rushes through Ayeka's body at this name while the wise warrior continues, his memory recalling the enemy in question.)**

**Azaka:** They wielded a black sword and heightened abilities granted by their Matron. Their temples still remain on Ryua to this day. It is likely that our allies are also attuned to that same power.

**(Kamidake agrees, complimenting his partner's story.)**

**Kamidake:** This is true, though luckily, we defeated the zealots to the last man in antiquity. It is possible for that knowledge died with them.

**(Disagreeing, Azaka speaks once more.)**

**Azaka:** The knowledge of that power lives.

**(The other two turn to him while his mind recalls the blonde-haired Nerti Ro standing opposed to him. Dressed in her white armor and holding her sharp scythe, black energies coalesce in her free hand before she grips them, forming a black broadsword.)**

**Azaka:** During the reunion incident, I saw the young woman Nerti Ro use their blade against me. She was manipulated by Jezibel Kimitan, but her form was that of the zealots we battled on Ryua.

**(Among the four Juraians, Kamidake's brows furrow, confused at this concept.)**

**Kamidake:** Ms Ro held the dark sword?

**Azaka:** She did. How she acquired that ability is still a mystery to me.

**(Ayeka's eyes lower in worry while Yosho glances to the side in consideration.)**

**Yosho:** That is interesting. Both she and her companion Will Pii arrived on Earth shortly before we left.

**(Both knights spin to meet the grandfather's gaze.)**

**Azaka:** Has she?

**Yosho:** This certainly does explain her intimate knowledge of the dark power.

**Azaka:** If she is in control of herself, her insight could prove quite useful against the enemy.

**Yosho:** As could her companion's ship.

**(Holding her arms close, Ayeka worriedly regards Azaka and adds.)**

**Ayeka:** They also brought the dark keys to Earth.

**(Kamidake furrows his brows, considering this.)**

**Kamidake:** Those used by the usurper and his two followers?

**(She concurs, questioning the two knights.)**

**Ayeka:** _The Holy Chronicle_ does not speak of them when the keys were created. What do you know of them?

**(With a heated glare, the younger knight replies.)**

**Kamidake:** They shouldn't exist. They are a mockery!

**(Azaka nods, his voice calm and clear in his response.)**

**Azaka:** What Kamidake says is true. They are a mockery of the true keys and their righteous purpose. However, given their twisted nature and dark properties...

**(A loud screech sings out through the ship when a sudden inertia knocks the four people to the deck. Ayeka gasps while the group catch themselves, pushing against the accelerative force. In the corridor of warped space, Yagami's nose angles downward and starts to tumble, rolling to the craft's port-bow. Ahead, a white disc appears along the corridor's perimeter, and the Galaxy Police vessel slips into the brightness.)**

**(Elsewhere, amongst small asteroids, old and forgotten crafts drift lifelessly. In particular, one large transport floats silently within this field of rocks and damaged hulls when a white disc appears nearby. Yagami tumbles out from this portal, stabilizing thrusters firing across the machine. Soon, the craft settles to a stop near the large transport, their broadsides facing one another.)**

**(Aboard Yagami, Ayeka, Yosho, and the two knights gather their balance and rise to their feet. Over the public address system, Kiyone's voice calls to the four Juraians.)**

**Kiyone:** Is everyone alright?

**(The four glance between one another with silent nods before Ayeka replies.)**

**Ayeka:** We're fine here, Kiyone. What happened?

**(The officer replies anxiously.)**

**Kiyone:** I'm not certain, but I think you all should come to the bridge.

**(Confused, Ayeka furrows her brows.)**

**Ayeka:** What do you mean?

**(Azaka and Kamidake exchange a cool glance while Yosho advances to the door.)**

**Kiyone:** This is something you have to see for yourself, Ayeka.

**(On Yagami's bridge, Kiyone and L listen to Ayeka's uneasy reply.)**

**Ayeka:** ... Very well. We are on our way.

**(Before the officer and agent, the broadside of the transport streams from the ship's exterior camera. L blinks at the strange scene and regards Kiyone.)**

**L:** Is there something wrong with the engines or that fold system?

**(The teal-haired woman's fingers dance around the console before her. Two small screens appear, each displaying an annular meters. The one marked "Engine Power" holds strong at "100%" while the other is labeled "Power Feed" reads "0%". Kiyone shakes her head, motioning to the displays.)**

**Kiyone:** Yagami's primary engines are fully operational, but the fold system is getting absolutely no energy from the generators.

**(L narrows her eyes at these when her colleague taps a few keys. The two meters change to both read "100%" along with a time entry in the upper right corner of each, "00:00". The timer advances until "1:59", where the "Power Feed" meter suddenly drops rapidly.)**

**Kiyone:** Nearly two hours into our flight, the system critically failed.

**L:** What do the diagnostics say?

**(A few more keystrokes spawn a panel filled with lines of text. Kiyone's blue eyes skim down the list, issuing a shake of her green locks.)**

**Kiyone:** Nothing. All systems are still green. All conduits have full integrity, but the power isn't reaching the fold system.

**(Confused, L rests two of her fingertips against her temple.)**

**L:** That makes no sense.

**(Behind them, the bulkhead splits and slides aside, allowing the Juraians to step onto the bridge behind the other two. Ayeka's eyes widen at the sight of the large transport vessel, though Yosho simply folds his arms.)**

**Ayeka:** Sargasso...?!

**(She turns to Kiyone, who nods slowly to affirm this. L glances between them, confused.)**

**L:** Sargasso? As in the Bermuda Triangle?

**Kiyone:** Similar. This is the star-ship graveyard. We were trapped here before during the coup on Jurai. Our power systems failed then also, and Sasami somehow made her way aboard this same transport.

**(She points toward the transport while an anxious Ayeka crosses her forearm over herself.)**

**Ayeka:** Something isn't right. Why have we stopped?

**Kiyone:** The power isn't reaching the fold system. All others are nominal.

**(The princess eyes the officer curiously.)**

**Ayeka:** But, why now? Why not on our journey to Jurai?

**(Kiyone folds her arms and closes her eyes, honestly answering.)**

**Kiyone:** I wish I knew. All the diagnostics show that we should be fully operational.

**(L interjects her thoughts.)**

**L:** Could the diagnostic systems be faulty?

**(Kiyone shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** Those systems were installed by Washu during the coup and checked when she installed the fold system. I might not like her, but I trust her work.

**(Yosho's experienced words slide from his lips, his knowing gaze on the other ship.)**

**Yosho:** Considering this ship was present then and now, might the solution be there?

**(His violet eyes turn to the two women as they glance back to him. With a nod, Ayeka concurs.)**

**Ayeka:** Like before...

**(Her amethyst gaze shifts to the two knights.)**

**Ayeka:** Azaka, Kamidake. Will you join me?

**(The two bow their heads in consent.)**

**Azaka & Kamidake:** Yes, princess.

**(To Yosho, she glances, but he steps forward with the knights.)**

**Yosho:** I will go as well.

**(Kiyone spins back to her consoles and confirms her intentions.)**

**Kiyone:** I'll stay here and monitor the ship. I'll try to remotely wire power to the fold system.

**(L agrees and turns to the other station.)**

**L:** I can also follow your progress on the other ship from here.

**(Kiyone grins to the MiB agent, the two exchanging a confident expression. The chill ebbs from the princess as she bows to the two.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you both.

**(With a nod from the two, the Juraians turn to the door, lead by Ayeka. However, Yosho glances to the two knights, who silently affirm an unspoken statement.)**

**(Meanwhile, aboard the transport ship, ten-year-old Sasami Jurai steps through a dust-covered ballroom. Her rosy eyes rise up to the tilted chandelier, its crystals broken and dirty and its fittings corroded. The stale air coats her nostrils in this cold and lifeless room.)**

**(On a nearby table, a monochrome photograph is framed, depicting a seven-year-old Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and another young girl. This child sits in an antique chair with Sasami and Ryo-Ohki at her side, smiling and warming the picture. The modern Juraian princess smiles nostalgically at the western dress of the girl, her shoulder-length hair falling around her joyful eyes.)**

**(Behind Sasami, a soft giggle fills the air, rousing the princess from her memories. Spinning around, she finds the same girl, her brown hair framing her kind face. However, her body and clothes are transparent, her colors soft and faded. Mirei, the ghost girl Sasami befriended, stands smiling, her hands clasped behind her back.)**

**Mirei:** You came back, just like you promised.

**(The spirit steps closer, her eyes scanning over Sasami with some disappointment.)**

**Mirei:** You've... gotten taller...

**(Their eyes meet at their now shared height while the princess nods quietly. Yet, the ghost grins and wraps her arms around her friend, an embrace the Juraian girl reciprocates.)**

**Mirei:** I'm glad you came back.

**(They separate, questions spewing from Mirei's voice.)**

**Mirei:** How've you been? Where's Ryo-Ohki? Is she doing well?

**(With a somber smile, the young princess nods.)**

**Sasami:** She's doing well, Mirei, and I've been well also.

**(Curiously, Mirei blinks as Sasami's smile fades away.)**

**Sasami:** But, something bad is going to happen soon.

**(Gently, the azure-haired girl takes the hands of her ethereal friend.)**

**Sasami:** And, you can help me.

**(Fear and concern encase Mirei's face as her voice ekes from her lips.)**

**Mirei:** ... Me...?! What's...?!

**(Sasami raises her hand, stalling her friend's questions as she speaks.)**

**Sasami:** Remember when you searched my mind and found my memory of my home on Jurai?

**(Mirei nods.)**

**Sasami:** Look again, and you'll understand.

**(Carefully, Mirei approaches, her forehead nearing Sasami's. Both close their eyes when their heads meet. Within Mirei's mind, flashes of images swarm her: the telemetry of the distortion, the discovery of the dark keys, the emperor's denial of assistance, all those images Sasami has seen in connection to the plight of Earth.)**

**(With a gasp, Mirei's eyes pop open as she steps back from Sasami. The princess takes a careful breath, her gaze lowered and distant. Uneasy, the ghost blinks, filtering the images now hers.)**

**Mirei:** How horrible...!

**(Quietly, the Juraian nods when the spirit meets her eyes.)**

**Mirei:** But... how can I help? I mean... I've been here... alone... What can I...?

**(Taking the spirit's hands again, Sasami speaks gently and kindly, the triangular symbol on her forehead glowing warmly.)**

**Sasami:** You have a connection, one that's very rare. It's what keeps you here, and what will let you help.

**(At the mark's illumination, Mirei takes a step forward, questioning.)**

**Mirei:** Sasami...

**(Sasami glances to the side, sadly.)**

**Sasami:** I can't explain, not yet. It's really complicated.

**(A moment passes before the princess feels the chilly touch of the spirit's hands around hers. The two meet gazes, Mirei smiling softly.)**

**Mirei:** How can I help?

**(A worried grin crosses Sasami's lips when she clasps her friend's hands.)**

**Sasami:** Close your eyes.

**(Following the princess's instructions, the ghost closes her eyes. Calmly, the Juraian girl continues.)**

**Sasami:** Search my memories...

**(Already, Mirei's eager young mind swims through the experiences of the regal daughter, sifting through the children's games from the reunion and the adventures along the journey to Jurai from the coup.)**

**Sasami:** Focus on...

**(The ghost's hands tighten around the princess's, fear in her voice.)**

**Mirei:** ... I'm scared...

**(Visions of the knights and a regally dressed Juraian man appear within Mirei's mind before a sudden flash of a pair of eyes, azure corneas with scarlet irises. The girl cringes and gasps when Sasami's soothing words float to her ear.)**

**Sasami:** Focus on my home, Jurai...

**Mirei:** Who...?

**(An echo sounds from Sasami's voice, heavenly and calming, and mature.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Please, Mirei... Do not look there...

**(The vision of the strange eyes fades, replaced by the majestic trees of Jurai. Around them, the ballroom shifts to the lush valleys of Sasami's homeworld. The princess nods.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Good... Now, the coup d'etat...

**(Dark clouds gather around the pair as winds blow through the trees, rustling the leaves and their hair. Sasami's hands grip tightens about Mirei's hands, supportive and caring.)**

**Adult Sasami:** A bad man... the one who took my sister...

**(Apprehensively, Mirei whispers.)**

**Mirei:** ... Jurai Kagato...

**(Next to the pair, a black figure appears, a cape shrouding the deep colored regalia covering him. His green hair comes into focus when Sasami's rosy gaze opens, and she turns to face him. His grey eyes open and meet hers when his facial features visualize. The dark usurper Kagato Jurai stands before Sasami and Mirei, the princess taking a soft breath.)**

**(The symbol on Sasami's forehead glows warmly as the Juraian man glares coldly back at her. Mirei starts to speak softly when her companion gently interrupts her.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Keep your eyes closed, Mirei... It will be only a bit longer...

**(Kagato's brows furrow at the voice, his eyes settling on the emblem on her face. He speaks to her, an anger in his words.)**

**Kagato:** So, this is where you hide yourself now.

**(With a calming breath, Sasami questions him.)**

**Adult Sasami:** You and your knights held a dark power...

**(He nods, flinging his arm aside and opening his cape wide.)**

**Kagato:** Of course, and you were well knowledgeable of it, my _Lady_.

**(Sasami's brows lower when Mirei whispers to her.)**

**Mirei:** ... It's hard...

**(The princess nods.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Just a little more...

**(Kagato grins to himself, approaching another step.)**

**Kagato:** So, after three years...

**(Softly, Sasami interrupts him with her inquiry.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Your keys, Kagato...

**(With a curl to his lip, the usurper responds, a bolt of lightning above them.)**

**Kagato:** _You_ made them, my Lady, from _your_ wings.

**(Sasami's eyes lower sadly while the forming storm around them strengthens.)**

**Kagato:** Just like you did for the first Jurai king and his blessed knights.

**(Mirei cringes when Kagato advances closer, his voice demanding.)**

**Kagato:** Release me, my Lady. I _can_ complete my task, as we agreed.

**(A despair fills Sasami's eyes as she shakes her head slowly, regretfully.)**

**Adult Sasami:** No...

**(Surprise wipes over Kagato's face when the symbol on her forehead changes to a pair of discs. A tear rolls down her cheek, her words melancholic.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Return to your fate, Jurai Kagato... Your task is complete...

**(Rage grips the usurper when his hand reaches for the princess. Calmly, she closes her eyes, a white light shining from her forehead. The light envelopes Kagato, Mirei, Sasami, the storm, and the facade of Jurai. When the brightness dims, only the ballroom and the two girls remain.)**

**(Mirei's eyes open apprehensively, but then pop at the ballroom. However, Sasami kneels weakly, her forehead emblem having reverted to the two quiet triangles. The ghost drops with her, worriedly calling her name. Sasami grins and shakes her head, her normal ten-year-old voice sounding from her lips.)**

**Sasami:** Thanks, Mirei.

**Mirei:** What's wrong, Sasami?

**(The princess waves the spirit aside.)**

**Sasami:** I'm just tired.

**(The worry does not fade from Mirei's eyes when the Juraian meets her gaze.)**

**Sasami:** I have to leave again soon.

**(The other girl listens while a gentle smile crosses the fair face of the princess.)**

**Sasami:** But, when I come back, you'll be free of this ship.

**(Surprise echos through Mirei's face as Sasami nods gently.)**

**Sasami:** I promise.

**(A worried smile presses through Mirei's lips before she glances to the side at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Sasami nods knowingly.)**

**Sasami:** I know.

**Mirei:** Good luck.

**(The ghost stands and vanishes shortly before Ayeka, Yosho, and the two knights round a corner and enter the ballroom. Ayeka's eyes widen at the sight of her sister, though Yosho glances to the air where Mirei disappeared. However, Azaka and Kamidake remain silent as they exchange a knowledgeable glance. Rushing to her sibling, Ayeka calls to her, worry wrapping around her voice.)**

**Ayeka:** Sasami! What are you doing here?!

**(Sasami shakes her head, resting her head in her hand.)**

**Sasami:** I'm sorry, Ayeka. I just wanted to help, if I could.

**(The elder princess wraps her arms around her sister tightly, the younger lady's arms snaking around her relative. A beeping rises from Yosho's gi, from which he draws a small device. Setting it to his ear with a key-press, L's voice enters his ear.)**

**L:** Lord Yosho, whatever that was blocking the power to the fold system has vanished. We're now at one-hundred percent power.

**(Cooly, he replies, glancing to the two knights.)**

**Yosho:** Understood. We're returning now, with Sasami.

**(While L confusedly asks about Sasami, a tear rolls down Ayeka's cheek, and Sasami pats her back, knowing they both are returning to Earth.)**

Scene 3 – The Shadow of Jurai

**(Shackled, the former pirate Ryoko Ryua marches through the hallowed halls of the Matronic Temple on Ryua. Dressed in her flaming combat attire, she glares between her escort, two Ryoan priests. As they proceed through the structure, other priests pause to view the infamous woman, whispering amongst themselves in regard to her.)**

**(Soon, the trio reaches a large pair of doors, which the two escorts push open for their charge. Within is a grand chamber of worship. Ahead of Ryoko is a crimson carpet, woven with intricate designs of flame and blade. This leads to an altar where a great, ceremonial pyre burns brightly. Along the path, rows of pews face the altar, awaiting the faithful of this world.)**

**(Next to the pyre, Shinya Ryua quietly watches the flames, dressed still in the scarlet robes of his rank. Ryoko's two escorts bow and motion toward the chamber, and while she does scowl, she complies and enters the hall. The two priests shut the door behind her as she advances toward the cardinal, her amber eyes burning directly at him.)**

**(Thoughtfully, Shinya folds his arms and speaks, his voice carried by the acoustics of the room.)**

**Shinya:** You always have had a great deal of potential, Ryoko.

**(Ryoko's eyes harden, and her hands grip tightly as she nears her uncle. His disappointed gaze turns to meet hers.)**

**Shinya:** Pity you wasted it on yourself, and the Jurai.

**(Ryoko's words spit her spite back at him.)**

**Ryoko:** Shove it up your ass, bastard!

**(A slight scowl appears in Shinya's eyes while he steps down from the altar toward her.)**

**Shinya:** You certainly didn't learn those words from my sister.

**Ryoko:** How would you know? You never spoke to her!

**(The priest's words hiss off his lips.)**

**Shinya:** Ryoshu ran off with a pirate. She chose to forsake her _family_...

**(He narrows his eyes heatedly at her.)**

**Shinya:** As have you with that prince.

**(Spitefully, Ryoko raises her hands toward Shinya, her crimson energies flowing to her hands. However, the normally fiery lines of force are conspicuously thin and weak as they coalesce in her palms. This power bursts forth at Shinya, who coldly watches the blast splash against a spherical barrier around him. Surprised, Ryoko blinks at the result while Shinya explains disappointedly.)**

**Shinya:** We aren't the Galaxy Police, Ryoko. Those are sinium cuffs.

**(She turns her attention to the shackles around her wrists which now hum softly with a subtle scarlet glow. The cardinal steps along the carpet between the pews toward the main door, continuing his exposition.)**

**Shinya:** I'm sure you have some knowledge of it, the alloy that absorbs both Juraian and Ryoan energy. It even can be made into a salt and administered medically to block an individual's abilities.

**(As he reaches the door, Ryoko spins around and barks at him.)**

**Ryoko:** So, is that what you're going to do to me, steal my powers like you did Mom's?

**(With a shake of his head, he disagrees.)**

**Shinya:** Far from it.

**(He rests his hand on the massive door while she furrows her brows and questions him again.)**

**Ryoko:** Then, what?

**(The priest opens the door slightly, allowing another man of the cloth to enter. The former pirate is taken aback by a familiarity with his face. Framed with orange hair, this young man's purple eyes leer back at Ryoko, a similar history evident in his mind as well. Shinya grins to himself and motions to his associate.)**

**Shinya:** I believe you know my pupil, Brother Kimpatsu Ryobachi.

**(Silent, Ryoko eyes Ryobachi, though he readily smirks and approaches her.)**

**Ryobachi:** Oh, she does.

**(Disgust floods her face when he nears and attempts to caress her cheek. She readily smacks his hand away hard with the metal cuffs around her wrists. While he recoils in pain from the hit, Ryoko glares and harshly scolds him.)**

**Ryoko:** Don't you fucking touch me, you son of a bitch!

**(He laughs and glances up at her.)**

**Ryobachi:** Was it something I said?

**(She draws to strike him again when a whoosh of exiting air precedes Shinya grabbing the chain of her manacles, stopping her. She pulls at the chains while Ryobachi stands with a scoff. However, his smug expression is dampened when her saliva flies from her lips onto his face. Some irritation ekes through his brows as he wipes the fluid from his face, listening to her insults.)**

**Ryoko:** Bastard! You're a pirate's son!

**(With a scoff, he corrects her.)**

**Ryobachi:** He wasn't when he stabbed your old man in the back...

**(A shock riddles through her at this while he leers at her in conclusion.)**

**Ryobachi:** And, left him to the GP.

**(Hate burns deep in her golden eyes as he laughs to himself over the fact.)**

**Ryobachi:** Imagine the dread pirate Ten Akuno, in his own cache, a blade in his back, while rows of GP blasters mowed him down.

**(Ryoko gnashes her teeth and wrestles with Shinya's hold on her restraints before the cardinal teleports to the altar and sets her shackles to the altar. She pulls at them, but they hold fast, magnetically held to the edifice. Shinya steps away and, with a mild irritation in his words, calls down to Ryobachi.)**

**Shinya:** That's enough. We have business.

**(A gust of wind follows the younger priest's teleport to his mentor's side with a shrug.)**

**Ryobachi:** Very well, Father Shinya.

**(Ryoko glares at the two men, a few tears appearing at the edge of her eyes while they converse.)**

**Shinya:** Did Lord Tae get under way?

**Ryobachi:** Yes, he's with the covert battalion heading for the Juraian frontier. They should arrive in a couple days.

**(Shinya nods.)**

**Shinya:** Excellent. That should be in time for the matter on Earth to be completed.

**(Before the conversation can continue, Ryoko interjects, fuming with her spite for them both.)**

**Ryoko:** What's so special about Earth? Why there, and not the guilds or Jurai directly since you hate them both so much?

**(Shinya glances to her briefly before he reaches into a small compartment on the backside of the altar. From here, he draws a tome, handwritten and bound in the old way with translucent paper made from the trees outside. On the cover is a script unfamiliar to Ryoko's eyes, neither Terran, Juraian, nor the common tongue of the Galactic Union. Ryobachi grins and nods while his teacher speaks.)**

**Shinya:** All in good time.

**Ryobachi:** Besides, you need to be dressed appropriately for the start of a new Ryo-Jurai war.

**(Confusion shoots through Ryoko's eyes as she inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** The hell do you mean?

**(Shinya ceases his page-turning as he glances toward her coolly.)**

**Shinya:** The power imbued to us is only a fraction of the true potential we could harness.

**(He raises his hand, calling forth is own crimson katana for Ryoko and Ryobachi to see.)**

**Shinya:** With years of focus and training, a deacon of the Matron can do far more.

**(Gripping his fist tightly at the hilt of the energy blade, black markings appear across his hand and arm while the blade itself shifts to obsidian, edged in blood. The weapon grows in size and shape to a broadsword design, much like one Leon wielded. Ryoko eyes the weapon carefully, recognizing it and remembering Washu's description.)**

**(With a sigh, the cardinal releases his blade, the marks vanishing from his skin. He comments, his gaze returning to the text before him.)**

**Shinya:** That is only a beginning, though the power can be most... overwhelming at times.

**(Ryoko narrows her eyes at the elder priest.)**

**Ryoko:** Your point?

**Shinya:** Like it or not, you are family, Ryoko. Like your mother, you have a place in it.

**(Scowling, she retorts.)**

**Ryoko:** Like hell I do!

**(Shinya frowns, adding coldly.)**

**Shinya:** You owe us your life, Ryua Ryoko, both before and after Jurai Kagato killed you.

**(Her eyes widen with surprise, the old wound in her side aching. Ryobachi nods, smirking.)**

**Ryobachi:** Who do you think saved your life after your little raid on Jurai? Who would care?

**(Aghast, her eyes fall on Shinya, who coldly meets her gaze in silence. Ryobachi chuckles, continuing.)**

**Ryobachi:** It's time to collect, prodigal daughter.

**(She glances to the younger priest for a moment before Shinya's words recall her attention.)**

**Shinya:** Fourteen months ago, a beast was created and sent to Earth. It had two purposes. One was to kill the head of the Terran agency.

**(His eyes glisten as he taps the tome before him.)**

**Shinya:** The other was, if possible, to bring you back into the fold, by force. I intend to accomplish that myself.

**(An uneasy queasiness fills Ryoko's belly when she questions her uncle.)**

**Ryoko:** How? I want nothing to do with you.

**Shinya:** You will.

**(Ryobachi raises his upturned hand to her, adding.)**

**Ryobachi:** After the Lady's power fills your heart and mind, like it should have then.

**(A horror fills Ryoko's eyes when Shinya's arms slowly lift, those black marks scrawling along his skin with his ancient words.)**

Scene 4 – Getaway

**(Elsewhere within the Matronic Temple, a very quiet nun passes through the hallowed halls. Priests pass her and exchange nods with her in silence, her hood concealing much of her face. However, her crimson eyes peek from beneath the cowl, listening to the conversation of one particular pair of clergymen.)**

**Priest 1:** ... I heard there was a pair making trouble at the main gate.

**Priest 2:** Yeah, Father Shinya thinks they might be connected with his niece.

**Priest 1:** You mean Ryoko, the space pirate?

**(Her eyes narrow as she begins to follow them at a distance of a few meters, continuing to listen to their conversation.)**

**Priest 2:** Apparently, his sister fell in with a pirate lord back in the day.

**(Priest 1 raises a surprised brow at this.)**

**Priest 1:** Murakami's own _flesh_?! With a pirate?!

**(Priest 2 nods, shrugging.)**

**Priest 2:** Yeah, daughter of the Matron's own high priest. It had "scandal" written all over it.

**(The other man grins and shakes his head.)**

**Priest 1:** Or, just a rebellious little girl. I bet the old man was furious.

**(The second cleric scoffs.)**

**Priest 2:** It hurt him bad. She was his first born, _his_ little girl.

**(With low, wincing hiss, Priest 1 inquires further.)**

**Priest 1:** Ouch. What'd he do? I can't believe he'd simply let it lie.

**(Priest 2 shrugs.)**

**Priest 2:** He'd been planning to kill the head of the Ten guild anyway. This just gave him an excuse.

**Priest 1:** And, a mighty personal one.

**(The nun's eyes of crimson glance to either side of the men, noting the absence of monitoring equipment and witnesses in this corridor. However, her attention returns to them with a cold bitterness at their topic.)**

**Priest 2:** I also heard she went to Jurai and shacked up with a guy there.

**(Shock thrusts the first priest's brows upward.)**

**Priest 1:** Wow! She got around!

**Priest 2:** Heh, I guess it's true what they say about preacher's daughters.

**(The two men grin at one another while a smoldering anger rises in the nun's gaze. Yet, she calmly addresses them, her tone civil, and familiar, despite her other emotions.)**

**Nagi:** Excuse me, brothers.

**(The two stop and turn toward her abruptly, startled by her sudden speech. Curious, they scan over her habit, noting the hood hiding her face while she inquires.)**

**Nagi:** Might I ask where is the pirate being held?

**(Priest 1 raises a brow while Priest 2 approaches her, his hand reaching for her hood.)**

**Priest 2:** Your hood shouldn't be that low, sister.

**(The nun lifts her head, allowing light to hit her lower face. Along her skin, a black mark descends the left side of her chin and neck and claws upward onto her cheek. Her crimson eyes meet his coldly as she replies, much to his surprise.)**

**Nagi:** I am no sister.

**(The huntress Nagi launches her foot forward, tagging Priest 2 in his abdomen and folding him to the ground quickly. Shocked, Priest 1 takes a step back as his scarlet light gathers in his right hand. However, the professional rushes him and slams him against one of the walls, one hand at his throat and the other around his wrist. Her knee rams into his gut, stealing his breath before her forearm crosses his face, robbing him of his consciousness.)**

**(Behind her, a whoosh of air alerts Nagi to slide aside and avoid the saber of Priest 2. She spins around, her arms grasping the weapon arm of her assailant. Though he does pull against her, she flows with him, drawing his arm downward across her knee. A loud snap announces the dislocation of his elbow joint. Priest 2's mouth opens to scream, but the pain halts his agonized yell from exiting his lungs.)**

**(The energy weapon vanishes before Nagi pushes the priest onto the ground and rests her knee, and half her weight, down on his chest. Gasping, Priest 2 gazes up at her helplessly while she asks again, her eyes just as cold.)**

**Nagi:** I'll ask again. Where is she?

**(Slowly, he shakes his head, his words whispered and forced.)**

**Priest 2:** I don't know...!

**(She shifts more of her weight onto his chest, causing him to wince and shake his head again.)**

**Priest 2:** I really don't know! Father Shinya is handling her!

**(Her eyes narrow, her hand encircling his trachea.)**

**Nagi:** Then, her confederates.

**(Priest 2 nods, answering quickly.)**

**Priest 2:** Downstairs! In storeroom one!

**(The huntress grips her fist and punches across his jaw, knocking his senses from him. Quietly, she rises, smooths her habit, and continues through the corridor, disregarding the fallen men. Soon, the hidden woman comes to a junction in the hallway, marked on the wall with a Juraiji text directory. She skims it quickly and rounds the corner without a pause, heading for a nearby stairwell.)**

**(Calmly, Nagi descends the stairs until she sees two Ryoan men collapsed on the floor before a door marked "1". Instinctively, she draws her saffron rapier and advances quickly, checking the pulse of each. Finding both alive and unconscious, she turns her attention to the door. Her blade punches through near the bolt of the barrier, cutting around the impediment. She then kicks the door aside and holds her weapon aloft at those within.)**

**(Within, Mitsuki and J, both still dressed as tourists level their respective blasters back at the huntress, forming a stalemate. However, Washu grins to herself at the side of the officer and agent, remarking.)**

**Washu:** And, there she is now.

**(Upon the scientist's shoulder, Ryo-Ohki's ears perk while she blinks with surprise at the huntress. Nagi pulls her hood away, revealing her Juraian hair-band key nestled within her spiked, violet locks. Her feline, crimson eyes glance at the two enforcement operatives as they lower their weapons with sighs of relief.)**

**Mitsuki:** I never expected to be happy to see a bounty hunter.

**(The bounty hunter sheathes her blade and approaches Washu, her questions leading.)**

**Nagi:** You knew I was coming?

**(Washu grins and shrugs.)**

**Washu:** Kinda easy when you're the only one of Juraian descent in the building. Ken-Ohki's with you, I'm sure.

**(A vent in the ceiling snaps open as the white cabbit Ken-Ohki drops down onto Nagi's shoulder. Ryo-Ohki mews happily at the fuzzy object of her affections while he returns a soft mew back to her.)**

**Nagi:** Why are you here?

**(She glances toward Mitsuki and J idly before her gaze returns to the scientist. With a scoff and a gesture, the researcher's phantom laptop appears. Her finger depresses a key, causing the apparel of the authority figures to revert back to its normal state: Mitsuki's GP uniform, scar across her cheek, and prosthetic hand; J's MiB suit and clean-shaven looks.)**

**Washu:** Probably the same reason you are. I'm assuming you're here because of the large NVO-based distortion?

**(Nagi nods, affirming this.)**

**Nagi:** Father told me of it.

**(J steps forward, inquiring.)**

**J:** Then, what're you doing here? It's not like everyone knows it came from Ryua.

**(The huntress narrows her icy eyes toward the agent and retorts just as frozenly.)**

**Nagi:** Considering that a Ryoan priest was involved during the reunion incident, I decided to chase a few pirates around this putrid little globe.

**(The Terran furrows his brows, pondering her story as she removes the habit, revealing her flaring violet and black combat attire, complete with her rapier and whip.)**

**Nagi:** I had been tracking one Kimpatsu Ryobachi, a pirate's son turned priest. He is Ryua Shinya's understudy and happens to have some ties back to the guilds.

**(Curious, Washu taps the two names into her system and obtaining dossiers on both. She skims these, and the images of each man, while the huntress concludes her tale.)**

**Nagi:** As Shinya is a cardinal of the Matronic temple and son of the high priest, I believed his student would have particular insight into the temple's recent movements, and be more easily persuaded to talk. However, when I received news of the distortion, Ryobachi also turned back to Ryua. I decided to beat him back here.

**(With a hint of superiority, Nagi's eyes dart between Mitsuki and J.)**

**Nagi:** Yet, you seemed to have bumbled into this mess before I arrived.

**(Washu's analytic gaze reads Shinya's records, noting the entries "Father: Ryua Murakami" and "Sister(s): Ryua Ryoshu (deceased)". Slowly, her head shakes with her comment.)**

**Washu:** You can blame your sister for that.

**(Her green attention shifts to the red of the huntress, a distinct irritation visible in the latter's face. Ryo-Ohki mews sadly while J blinks oddly at Nagi.)**

**J:** "Sister"?

**(The regal-haired woman glares at Washu, correcting her emphatically.)**

**Nagi:** _Half_-sister.

**(J glances to Mitsuki, who shrugs with a apathetic wave to her hand. The scientist sighs and explains briefly to the MiB agent.)**

**Washu:** They have the same mother...

**(Then, her gaze slides coldly to Nagi.)**

**Washu:** Shinya's elder sister.

**(A dull blaze burns behind the huntress's eyes while Mitsuki and J eye her oddly. Sarcastically, J blurts out his thoughts.)**

**J:** His _sister_? You mean this is some _family_ bullshit?

**(Without turning her attention from Washu, Nagi answers, her tone arctic.)**

**Nagi:** Perhaps to Ryoko.

**(She blinks, her gaze shifting to him.)**

**Nagi:** But, not to me.

**(Mitsuki steps between Nagi and J, interjecting the facts.)**

**Mitsuki:** Personal or not, we're in the middle of it.

**(She raises her organic wrist, checking a small bracelet around it. A small metallic orb on the trinket emits a small hologram of a hemisphere over her skin, sectors of it sliding with the ticks of the minutes and seconds. The GP officer glances back to the others with her concerns.)**

**Mitsuki:** The distortion's ETA on Earth is thirty-five hours from now. If we want to be of any help there, we need to leave this planet very soon.

**(Remembering, J intercedes.)**

**J:** Hey, I thought we came here to stop the damn thing. Why don't we go after Shinya and get him to turn it around like Ryoko said?

**(Washu disagrees, turning her ethereal computer screen to face them.)**

**Washu:** I don't think they can.

**(The device displays a floor plan of the temple around them, including power systems, ventilation ducts, even the people on each floor. The levels are layered and faded to indicate their relative height. However, one particular large chamber remains black and empty. Her finger points to this region and explains.)**

**Washu:** Currently, the temple doesn't show the necessary facilities to cause a distortion like that, except maybe within this shielded room.

**(The huntress skims over the diagram, contemplating.)**

**Nagi:** What do you know about it?

**Washu:** No exiting emanations. No power draw. It's a sealed room, possibly connected to a pocket dimension. Ryoko was taken there a few minutes ago.

**(Mitsuki shifts toward Nagi and the diagram.)**

**Mitsuki:** What are you thinking?

**(J clacks the clip of his deatomizer out of the grip, checks the ammunition, and slaps it back inside with his own answer.)**

**J:** Probably the same thing I am.

**(The others turn to him as he continues, serious.)**

**J:** We bust in there, get Ryoko, and see if they can turn it around.

**(Nagi glances aside, remarking.)**

**Nagi:** Stopping the distortion is sufficient.

**(The male agent lifts a brow at this while she continues.)**

**Nagi:** However, there are still too many Ryoan priests here for only three of us to handle.

**(Washu grins to herself and steps forward, her right hand dancing upon the translucent keyboard.)**

**Washu:** Good thing it's _not_ just the three of you.

**(All around them, alarms sound, and ruby lights flash. Over the public address system, the following is spoken by a female voice.)**

**PA:** Attention! Attention! The self-destruct system for this facility has been activated.

**(Immediately, the others whirl toward the scientist, who merely grins to herself.)**

**PA:** Please evacuate immediately. This facility will detonate in five minutes. Attention! Atten...

**(The message repeats, the time decreasing each time while Mitsuki approaches Washu and anxiously confronts the genius.)**

**Mitsuki:** What did you just do?!

**(The researcher scoffs and shrugs.)**

**Washu:** The self-destruct is phony. I merely hacked their security protocols and set off the alarm for the destruct.

**(Adding, she exchanges a knowing gaze with Nagi.)**

**Washu:** It should clear the way for you. I'll handle our getaway arrangements.

**(The huntress agrees before the minute scientist concludes.)**

**Washu:** Just keep away from the door of the chamber after you enter.

**Nagi:** Very well.

**(J blinks curiously.)**

**J:** What's wrong with the door?

**(Mitsuki grabs the collar of his suit and pulls him with her as she joins Nagi.)**

**Mitsuki:** Don't worry about it. We're in a hurry.

**(Together, Nagi, Mitsuki, and J rush out the door of the storeroom. Ryo-Ohki hops from Washu's shoulder to join them, but the small woman calls back to the fuzzy creature.)**

**Washu:** Hold on.

**(The cabbit stops and mews questioningly.)**

**Washu:** We have other business.

**(While she explains, the others hurry through the stairwell, sirens blaring around them. When they reach the ground floor, the corridor is empty, bathed in the bloody light of the alert. Nagi draws her sword and whip and continues forward, winding through the turns and foyers of the complex. Behind her, Mitsuki and J hold their weapons ready, though J watches Nagi uncertainly.)**

**(Without incident, the trio arrives at the entrance to the sealed worship chamber. The huntress advances and kicks one of the doors, thrusting it aside and revealing the grand interior. Here, Ryoko stands next to the altar, her hands barred by a set of cuffs magnetized to the ceremonial table. Across from her, Shinya stands with his arms outstretched, black marks crossing his arms and face while a spherical mass of darkness pulses between him and his niece. Close at hand, Ryobachi spins from observing the spectacle to the intruders.)**

**(Ryoko also turns her attention promptly to those at the entrance. Coldly, Nagi raises her weapon to the younger of the two priests, issuing her demand.)**

**Nagi:** Ryoko is _my_ prey.

**(The orange-haired cleric glares and raises his hand at his side.)**

**Ryobachi:** Sorry, _half-breed_.

**(His crimson power draws toward his hand, where he grips them into a katana shape.)**

**Ryobachi:** She belongs to us.

**(Without turning, Nagi addresses the pair with her.)**

**Nagi:** I'll handle him. You two get Ryoko.

**(Ken-Ohki hops down to the floor and scampers to Mitsuki and J. These two nod before their ally launches herself forward, her feet floating just above the stone floor. Ryobachi vanishes, causing Nagi to spin aside and plant her soles into the ground. Her rapier swings and collides with the priest's blade as he reappears and swings at her. The purple-haired woman slides back and snaps the violet light of her whip around his ankle. With a jerk, Ryobachi's balance topples just as she thrusts her saffron blade at him.)**

**(Surprised, his eyes widen before he vanishes again. Nagi hears a whoosh of air above her, forcing her to roll aside, letting the enemy's weapon crash harmlessly into the scarlet carpet below. Quickly rising, Nagi centers her gaze on her foe while he slashes his weapon free of the stone and resumes his hostilities.)**

**(Meanwhile, Mitsuki and J rush toward the altar, Ken-Ohki scurrying at their heels. When they approach, a wave of force hits them, halting them. J glances up to Ryoko, who struggles at her cuffs and calls to them.)**

**Ryoko:** Stop him!

**(Taking a knee, J carefully levels his weapon toward Shinya, taking steady aim against the force oppressing him. His finger squeezes the trigger, sending a pulse of energy at the Ryoan cardinal. However, the man's eyes glance to the agent as the blast splashes across a spherical barrier around its target. Shinya's words boom, his voice seemingly amplified through the obsidian orb before him.)**

**Dark Shinya:** Do not interfere, Terran.

**(Mitsuki watches and listens when the force hitting them, forces her down to her knees. Her teeth gnash as she glances to the flaming ball of darkness. Straining, her GP-issue blaster targets on the mass. Again, Shinya turns his attention to her, but the blackness itself extends a flagellum and lashes at her. The tip snaps against her weapon, knocking it from her hands.)**

**(Ken-Ohki hisses at the cardinal while the priest closes his eyes, his concentration returning to his current activity. The orb then flares, white plumes appearing within the mass. These gather, forming the image of a face or mask. Ryoko pulls away, her eyes squarely focused on the vile object before her. The cabbit mews as a violet light appears in the yellow crystal upon his forehead. This power bursts forward toward Ryoko's cuffs, making direct contact. However, the attack is completely taken within the cuffs, causing them to shimmer a reddish-violet.)**

**(Mitsuki and J both turn their attention to Ken-Ohki's action. The GP officer's eyes blink with recognition, recalling such restraints.)**

**Mitsuki:** Sinium cuffs!

**(She reaches to J's weapon with her mechanized arm, raising it for him. He glances to her with furrowed brows.)**

**J:** "Sinium"...?

**(She interrupts him with her orders.)**

**Mitsuki:** Just shoot!

**(J levels his MiB-issue deatomizer at Ryoko's cuffs, carefully training his sights on his target. Mitsuki's artificial arm helps to level and guide his gun as he squeezes off another round. This one travels at Ryoko's restraints and smashes through them, catching her awareness. Immediately, she vanishes as the face in the darkness roars and fades away.)**

**(The former pirate reappears with Mitsuki, J, and Ken-Ohki while the darkness flashes a brilliant scarlet. With Nagi and Ryobachi, the two slide apart, their battle interrupted by the light. Shinya kneels, his concentration breaking under a strain. He raises a hand toward the orb, the marks upon his skin flickering in and out of existence.)**

**(The force affecting Mitsuki, J, and Ken-Ohki vanishes before the agent turns to Ryoko and questions her.)**

**J:** What the hell is going on?

**(Her eyes burn hatefully at Shinya as she answers.)**

**Ryoko:** He's screwing with something he can't control.

**(Mitsuki watches the orb as it loses cohesion, flaring outward. The group jump back as a spark of shadow arcs at them and smashes into the floor. The GP officer comments.)**

**Mitsuki:** That's NVO energy, but...

**(As she trails off, Ryoko finishes her thought.)**

**Ryoko:** He can't stop it.

**(Ryobachi vanishes and reappears with Shinya, the younger man aiding his mentor. Nagi rushes to her allies, her attention also on the mass of power. The Juraian crest in her hair shimmers, sending a chill down her spine. Behind the group, a shot of ruby bursts down through the roof near the door. All of them turn toward it, but Ryoko grins when Ryo-Ohki's voice streams through her mind.)**

**Ryo-Ohki:** Time to go!

**(With a nod, Ryoko recites this to the others and hurries to the ray of moonlight streaming down through the hole above.)**

**Ryoko:** Let's get out of here!

**(The others follow her. Once they are gathered, the rings of Ryo-Ohki's teleportation field appear around them. However, Ryoko and Nagi both turn their eyes on the priests and their dark power. As the two sisters fade away, they quietly watch the dark power dangerously spark, but slowly dissipate under the chants of the two clerics.)**

**(Shinya and Ryobachi breathe a sigh of relief while they hear Ryo-Ohki's meow soar away into the Ryoan sky.)**

Scene 5 – Similar Issues

**(Within the secret hangar of the MiB headquarters, the long weapon known as the dimensional cannon rests. Roughly the size of a bus, this product of the Galaxy Police's armory has its twin accelerator brackets closed and locked in place over its length. Technicians swarm it, checking each particular joint and wire to ensure its functionality.)**

**(Nearby, the young woman Nerti Ro stands watching them from a distance, her grey eyes mindful of their work. Around her shoulders, a white lab coat partially conceals the slacks and buttoned shirt of an MiB agent.)**

**(Her hand grips the palm of the young man at her side, Will Pii, attired in his blue bodysuit. A supportive brace is wrapped around his left leg, the costume removed from the region of this body. His brown gaze glances from her to the other fellow at her side, Chief Agent Zed. The greying leader of the MiB speaks to them frankly, motioning to the cannon in particular.)**

**Zed:** And, Dr Hakubi has planned to channel that artificial Jurai energy through the cannon.

**(Nerti nods while he turns his attention to her.)**

**Zed:** So, what are your thoughts, Ms Ro? You are the authority on NVO energy.

**(With a glance to the floor, Nerti takes a breath to gather herself before she softly answers.)**

**Nerti:** She has a good plan. It's far more ambitious than what was done on Jurai.

**Zed:** Is there any way you can supplement this weapon?

**(Closing her eyes, she responds.)**

**Nerti:** For the Aelins Reactor, I devised a containment field to keep the core stable when it was active. It might be able to adapt it into something useful here.

**Zed:** Alright. What kind of power draw are we talking about?

**Nerti:** Each panel of the containment grid drew roughly two megawatts. I think I could keep it at the same level.

**(She sighs, resting the fingertips of her free hand against her forehead. Pii squeezes her hand gently, coaxing her to look at him. An subtle emerald light glows around her eyes but soon vanishes after a few moments. He nods gently while Zed folds his arms, considering her proposal.)**

**Zed:** That's good. When can you have schematics drawn?

**Nerti:** A few hours. I knew the system well.

**Zed:** Very well. Also, I hope you understand why we had to ask you to wear the suit.

**(He motions to her clothes, to which she nods understandingly.)**

**Nerti:** I do, and thank you for letting me help.

**Zed:** Call me when you're ready for prototyping.

**(With this, Zed steps away and exits the hangar while Pii turns to his companion with some concern.)**

**Pii:** How're you holding up?

**(A soft smile crosses her lips as she nods.)**

**Nerti:** Alright. I can mostly keep it under control.

**(Gently, he rests his free hand on her cheek, spurring her to place hers over his.)**

**Pii:** Don't push yourself too hard.

**(She nods, glancing down to his knee. Solemnly, the blonde's own worry arises from her lips.)**

**Nerti:** Does it still hurt?

**(The hunter smirks and shakes his head.)**

**Pii:** Not really. I'll be fine.

**(A moment passes between them as her grey eyes meet the brown of his. A rosy glow enters her cheeks as she starts to speak, her voice just above a whisper.)**

**Nerti:** Will... I've never thanked you...

**(His hand slides from her cheek to her shoulder when he carefully interrupts her.)**

**Pii:** You don't have to.

**(Her hands clutch his, her eyes lowering slightly.)**

**Nerti:** Will... I...

**(Quietly, he listens to her voice trail off into the noise of the hangar around them until another presence steals the attention of both. With a wry grin on his face, Tenchi Masaki scratches the back of his head, an apology already sliding from his lips.)**

**Tenchi:** Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.

**(Nerti slips out from Pii's grip and shakes her head.)**

**Nerti:** No, no. It's alright.

**(Pii hears this, his gaze drifting to the side while Tenchi glances between the two. With a quick breath, the young woman forces a smile and spins toward the prince.)**

**Nerti:** I should get to work soon anyway.

**(She bows to Tenchi.)**

**Nerti:** If you'll excuse me.

**(As she rises, her eyes meet Pii's once more longingly before she turns toward the exit. Pii sighs while Tenchi apologizes once again.)**

**Tenchi:** I'm very sorry. I heard you two were up, and I thought I'd see how you were.

**(Pii shakes his head, waving the interruption aside.)**

**Pii:** Don't worry about it.

**(The prince glances toward the exit and comments.)**

**Tenchi:** How is she?

**(Pii's eyes follow his, his gaze distant.)**

**Pii:** Better. The doctors checked her for injury and disease, and all they could find was stress. However, her eyes still occasionally turn green.

**(The two meet gazes as Tenchi blinks, surprised.)**

**Tenchi:** They couldn't see what was wrong?

**(The hunter replies with some frustration evident.)**

**Pii:** No, it's apparently not something the MiB can detect with their facilities. Hopefully, Dr Hakubi will have a better answer.

**(The prince agrees, commenting.)**

**Tenchi:** She usually does.

**(He pauses for a moment, pondering before he questions again.)**

**Tenchi:** Is everything alright?

**(Pii scoffs and points to his knee sarcastically.)**

**Pii:** Yeah, the sliced knee was just for show.

**(The Japanese youth shakes his head and clarifies himself.)**

**Tenchi:** No, I meant between you and Nerti. I mean, on Jurai, you seemed so close.

**(He glances toward the exit, adding.)**

**Tenchi:** Now, she...

**(The taller Terran sighs hard, a curl to his lip.)**

**Pii:** ... She blames herself for what Jezibel did through her: my knee, Jurai...

**(Considering this, Tenchi furrows his brows.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, but she looked more like...

**(The image that comes to his mind is that of Ryoko's arms encircling him aboard Yagami shortly before their raid on the Kagato-controlled Jurai. Meeting Pii's eyes, Tenchi concludes his statement.)**

**Tenchi:** ... she wanted to hug you.

**(A mild glare filters into Pii's expression.)**

**Pii:** And, you would know that how?

**Tenchi:** I've seen that look before.

**(Coldly, Pii retorts.)**

**Pii:** On which, the princess or the pirate?

**(Struck, Tenchi blinks dumbly while Pii explains.)**

**Pii:** Everyone's not as dense as you.

**(Confused, the prince replies.)**

**Tenchi:** But, why didn't you say anything to her?

**Pii:** Why haven't you?

**(Stymied, Tenchi is silent for a moment, this reflective question surprising him. A moment passes as a pang of guilt strikes the hunter. Pii relents and answers with a sigh.)**

**Pii:** I know how she feels. I feel the same way.

**(He takes a slow breath, calming his own nerves.)**

**Pii:** She's been unstable since Jurai... and I want to be sure it's her speaking...

**(Closing his eyes, his voice becomes more rational in his reasoning.)**

**Pii:** Besides, she's connected to all this dark energy nonsense. We all have enough on our minds without more distractions.

**(Tenchi nods, accepting this.)**

**Tenchi:** I see.

**(Turning his attention back to Tenchi, Pii substantiates his rationale.)**

**Pii:** Which is why I asked the medics here to do a DNA analysis on Nerti.

**(The Asian fellow raises his brows at this.)**

**Tenchi:** Why? What're you looking for?

**(The hunter pulls out an image from a pocket on his costume and hands it to Tenchi. The prince glances at the image, recalling it as a shot taken from Liaens's grandiose bridge. The chamber extends forward, studded with metallic columns until it ends with a great balcony with twin staircases curving down to the floor.)**

**(Masterwork portrait paintings also dot the balcony, but one in particular is central in this snapshot. Like the others, this one depicts a figure with cross-shaped pupils, much like Liaens himself had. However, unlike the others, this person is female with golden hair enshrouding her shoulders, much like Nerti. Her blue eyes gaze outward toward the viewer, proud and strong. Bladed combat armor protects her body, though two blades of golden light extend from her forearms. Below her, a plaque reads "Sophia Aelins, Queen of Prora, and Heroine of the Kimitan War".)**

**(Tenchi blinks at this, his mind now superimposing Nerti's face over Sophia's. Pii speaks, lending the prince his insight.)**

**Pii:** Remember Liaens's bridge? This painting was there.

**Tenchi:** "Sophia Aelins"? You think she and Nerti are related?

**(Pii shrugs.)**

**Pii:** I'm not sure. The likeness is striking, and Nerti _was_ adopted.

**Tenchi:** Do you know anything about the lady in the picture?

**(Pii shakes his head.)**

**Pii:** No, not her in particular. I do know the name "Aelins" though. Nerti's adoptive father, Major Rente Ro, met an "Amelia Aelins" during the Pentinon Civil War. She claimed to be a mercenary sent to help his squad retake the city of Carica.

**(Tenchi listens, furrowing his brows.)**

**Pii:** She was his first love, and his description of her is almost identical to that painting, save the big, glowing blades. Amelia used metal ones. She also had some knowledge about the Ryo-Jurai War.

**Tenchi:** Have you met her?

**(Pii denies this.)**

**Pii:** No, she vanished shortly after helping his team. He told both Nerti and me about her. He also showed us one of those metal "kaiser blades". He found it shortly before he adopted Nerti.

**(Tenchi thinks for a moment, inquiring.)**

**Tenchi:** What about this "Kimitan War"? Might that have something to do with Jezibel too?

**Pii:** Probably, though it all circles back to why Liaens and Jezibel were involved on Jurai.

**Tenchi:** Liaens was there for revenge.

**Pii:** Yeah, but Jezibel wasn't. On Miranda, Hotsuma said Jezibel's purpose was to deliver Nerti to him, "matured and prepared".

**(Pii folds his arms, concern wearing on his face while Tenchi states the obvious fact.)**

**Tenchi:** Then, the secret to all this might be...

**(The hunter nods.)**

**Pii:** Yeah, I know.

**(The prince sets a hand on his ally's shoulder, causing the taller man to meet his brown eyes with his own. Sincerely, Tenchi speaks, his voice hopeful and supportive.)**

**Tenchi:** It'll all get sorted out when Washu gets here. I'm sure.

**(Pii nods while the hangar doors above them open. The two turn their attention up to the parting earth above them, revealing a metallic saucer being lowered inside by a pair of industrial cranes. Reinforced by struts radiating from its center, the saucer seems old from weather wear. The object comes to rest in one of the docks and is promptly swarmed by agents attending to it.)**

**(Tenchi blinks at the artifact, thinking aloud.)**

**Tenchi:** That looks like...

**(Pii nods.)**

**Pii:** A flying saucer.

Scene 6 – Weight of the World

**(Atop the Triborough building in Battery Park, Tenchi Masaki sits on the edge of the building watching the distant stars of the night sky. In the back of his mind, he recalls several conversations, all of which circle back to a common theme, his indecisiveness.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Everyone can see it, Tenchi. And, so do you, right?

...

**Ayeka:** Tenchi, you are also well-known to the emperor. I'm sure that between the four of us, he would have to send us assistance.

**Tenchi:** I don't know, Ayeka. I might, but what about Ryua, or here on Earth? We can't just have everyone goto Jurai.

...

**Ryoko:** Tenchi, this could be dangerous, but I think we could fight our way to the one behind this and stop it there.

**Tenchi:** I'm not sure about that, Ryoko. We could get answers there, I'm sure, but what if they can't stop it?

...

**Pii:** Everyone's not as dense as you.

**Tenchi:** But, why didn't you say anything to her?

**Pii:** Why haven't you?

**Nobuyuki:** But, they won't be there forever, Tenchi, if you keep them at arm's length.

**(Footsteps behind him on the roof catch Tenchi's attention. Glancing behind, he finds his father Nobuyuki approaching from the access door a few yards away. With a thoughtful grin, the middle-aged architect addresses his son kindly.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Haven't seen you in a while, Tenchi.

**(The prince sighs and grins to himself.)**

**Tenchi:** I know. I just needed...

**(He trails off as Nobuyuki reaches him and puts a hand on his shoulder. With a firm grip, Nobuyuki nods and concludes his son's thought.)**

**Nobuyuki:** You're worried.

**(The smile fades as the young man agrees, commenting.)**

**Tenchi:** They're both two hours overdue.

**(Supportively, Nobuyuki reassures his son.)**

**Nobuyuki:** They'll be here. Both groups have strong people. I know your grandpa will take care of the Jurai group, and Ryoko and Washu will handle things on Ryua.

**(The son hangs his head, spurring a furrowed brow from his father.)**

**Nobuyuki:** What's wrong, Tenchi?

**Tenchi:** Was I right, Dad?

**(Confused, Nobuyuki blinks.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Right? Right how?

**(With a sigh, the young prince raises his eyes to the dusky skyline of Manhattan, his thoughts sliding to three days ago.)**

**Tenchi:** To stay here. I mean, I could've gone with either group...

**Nobuyuki:** You stayed to keep an eye on that Nerti Ro.

**Tenchi:** Yeah, but she's been fine. What if by not going...?

**(The architect gently pats his son's back and shakes his head.)**

**Nobuyuki:** You didn't know she would be. You did what you thought was best. It's what you've always done. You have nothing to feel guilty about.

**(Tenchi glances down, thoughtful.)**

**Tenchi:** There's only twelve hours left, Dad. By this evening, the distortion will reach Earth.

**Nobuyuki:** I know you're nervous.

**(Wryly, he grins and shrugs as well.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I think we all kinda are.

**Tenchi:** There will only be a few ships involved: Kiyone's Yagami, Mitsuki's Hayato, Ryoko's Ryo-Ohki, Pii's Caroki... Zed's even refitting an old "Grey" saucer that's been unused since the Men in Black were established. And then, there's the dimensional cannon...

**Nobuyuki:** What about that Nerti's stuff?

**(Tenchi nods, considering this.)**

**Tenchi:** She's made some beam weapons based on her designs for the Aelins reactor used on Jurai. Zed's already having them installed on the saucer and Pii's fighter. They will probably help, but if not, it all falls to Grandpa and Ayeka... and me.

**(The father nods, kneading his boy's shoulder as he speaks.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I have faith in you, son.

**(The prince turns to the architect, the former's worried eyes meeting the latter's certainty.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Everything you've done, that all of you have done, has made you into a good man, Tenchi. This is a big thing, I know, maybe the biggest. However, I know you and the others will do what you have to. You always do.

**(He grins to himself with a soft scoff.)**

**Nobuyuki:** You were meant for great things, Tenchi. I wish I could help too, but I'm just a normal man.

**(Hearing this, Tenchi remembers Kain's incursion into 1970 Tokyo. Here, he watched his then teenage parents laughing together. Through a window, he also saw his father at his mother's bedside, diligently watching over her. He lastly recalls his father setting the main booster for the subspace network on the Tokyo Tower observation deck and starting the trap for Kain, merely with the word of a "stranger", his future son. In the present, Tenchi smiles warmly and snakes his arms around his father and nods.)**

**Tenchi:** You have, Dad.

**(With a quirk in his brow, Nobuyuki grins wryly at first, but soon embraces his son. Behind them, the sun's light breaks on the horizon, issuing a golden morning onto the cityscape of Manhattan. The two turn toward the new morning. However, Tenchi's eyes blink in the brilliance, catching a reflection in the sky.)**

**(High above, the scarlet patrol-ship Yagami drifts over the city, unnoticed by those not attentive to the skies. A joy ignites in both men's faces at this sign when the young prince then notices a second glimmer in the distance. Mitsuki's grey patrol-ship Hayato follows as Yagami soars over the MiB headquarters, heading for the hangar's hidden entrance.)**

**(Tenchi spins on his heels and rushes toward the door, bursting through it before dashing down the stairs. He soon reaches an elevator while Ayeka narrates the scene.)**

**Ayeka:** Due to our respective difficulties, we all returned over two hours delayed.

**(Within the hangar, Tenchi swings open the door to reveal Yagami and Hayato docked before him, the crews of each disembarking.)**

**Ayeka:** I had hoped Ryoko's party would have met with luck in stopping our foe.

**(When the prince reaches the collective groups, Ryoko and Ayeka lower their faces, frustrated at their missions' failures. Nagi folds her arms and glances over toward the knights, where Kamidake notices her as well. Unease spreads through the assembled people, even the MiB technicians who break from their work. At Pii's Caroki, Pii and Nerti clasp each other's hands, their worry evident as well.)**

**Ayeka:** But, no one of us alone could possibly end this. Even together, we were too immature, too ill-prepared.

**(Yosho narrows his eyes and advances a step, but he halts when his ears catch Tenchi's voice. As Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, and Zed enter behind him, the young prince calls the attention of everyone, a determination issuing from his lips. Ryoko and Ayeka both gaze upon him, an amazement in the eyes of each. Ayeka's narration grows distant.)**

**Ayeka:** ... However, he gave me... all of us, hope.

**(The princess's hand rests on her chest, calming her heart as she sees him take a breath and end his speech. Yosho does then step forward and rest his hand on his grandson's shoulder, his own wise words supporting his descendant's. Ryoko nods, accepting Tenchi's words, as do the others around them.)**

**Ayeka:** Even though in a few short hours, he would fall, breaking us all.

**(Behind Ayeka, Sasami's rosy eyes watch the others, distantly observing.)**


	5. Act 5

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! are copyrighted to  
AIC, BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted to Sony Pictures

Act 5Scene 1 – Preparation

**(The morning sun rises against the cityscape of Manhattan Island, its citizens commuting through the usual heavy traffic to their jobs. Sky-scraping buildings reach up to the heavens above, hidden behind the blue layers of gases and the brilliant glare of the close star. Ayeka narrates over this urban scene.)**

**Ayeka:** Long ago, during the reign of the first king of Jurai, the sole heir to the throne, Princess Jurai Achi, was kidnapped by the Great Liaens and returned home. Afterward, she was plagued by visions of what may come, what has yet to come.

**(In Battery Park, the Triborough building stands stoically in the waxing light. Atop its roof, the bounty huntress Nagi gazes out toward the city, her thoughts distant.)**

**Ayeka:** When she became queen and mother herself, she wrote her visions in her journal, which became a part of our heritage, our inheritance.

**(With her cape billowing in the winds, Nagi removes her hair-band, a key of Jurai's Power, and eyes it carefully, analytically.)**

**Ayeka:** And this horrible day, we began to see her words for ourselves.

**(Her gaze narrows as the key wraps around her hand, its violet crest over her first knuckle as a purple light gathers around it.)**

**Ayeka:** "I stood amongst the flames, fields of our trees burning. I could hear our people crying, screaming for help. Above me, crystal shards fell with the fiery leaves as crimson and azure burst, clashing against one another. Before me, the palace crumbled, its branches aflame. And, I was horrified, pleading for rescue.

**(Deep within the Men in Black's headquarters below, Washu sits in the seat of their dimensional cannon. With the console removed, she reaches inside and removes wires, substituting her own which extend away from the large weapon.)**

**Ayeka:** "Then, I saw him, a knight paladin, shining and true. I could see his eyes, courageous and virtuous. With a white sword, he protected me from the fires. But, at his side was a Shadow, its blade fierce and bloody. I turned away in fear, but he consoled me. 'Do not fear this Shadow, for it loves the Light as you.'

**(Washu extends her hand to the side, summoning her phantom laptop. She glances to it and reads the gages, showing the headings "Pseudo-Jurai transfer: 50%", "Power Matrix Stability: 70%", and others. Her jade eyes glare before her hand dances again, substituting the gages with an image of Nerti Ro. Below this picture, a diagram of a DNA double-helix appears, each rung appropriately labeled by T, C, G, or A. Certain segments are blocked off with brackets, notated as "Paternal" or "Maternal".)**

**Ayeka:** "I believed him and accepted it. The specter pointed to the fields and said, 'Behold, the War reborn.' In the fields, I saw a woman of the Light, brilliance burning through the ranks. However, I could see a beast of Shadow at her side, clawing and snarling as the two fought.

**(Another press of a key clears the screen and displays two columns of data. One lists an image of a middle-aged, hardened man. His grey, feline eyes mirror Nerti's almost exactly, and his fiery-red hair is cut and spiked around his face and his elfin ears. Beneath, the following data is listed:**

Name: Rente Ro

Race: Pentinian

Sex: Male

Blood: A

Born: 29 May 1963

Died: 10 July 1995

**The other column, however, displays a sketchy image of a woman with blue eyes and long blonde hair. In general, this figure's features mirror Nerti's, though two distinct differences are the cross-shaped pupils of her eyes and the roundedness of her ears. Similar data succeeds this image.**

Name: ???

Race: ???

Sex: Female

Blood: AB

Born: ???

Died: ???

**Washu glares mildly at the number of question marks in her analysis.)**

**Ayeka:** "Nearby, another figure struck the Enemy. In his right hand burned the Light, but his left was consumed by the Dark. I asked my protector who he was, and the answer was 'the child of the War.' Then, I witnessed the last of them, and he also saw me. His eyes burned gold as the Darkness consumed him, and he spewed it back, White and pure.

**(The researcher glances from the display to the docked ships nearby. Here, the patrol-ships Yagami and Hayato rest with the Grey saucer and Pii's Caroki close at hand. A scaffold stands next to Yagami, where Nerti wipes her brow, those kind grey eyes focused on the components in her hands and within the ship's weapon array.)**

**(The blonde winces when a shot of emerald burns through her eyes. With a calming breath, she steadies herself and waits, letting the green glow vanish from her gaze again.)**

**Ayeka:** "From the War, these Five came before me and knelt. I asked them why, and the woman answered, 'In respect for the fallen.' She pointed to the sky, and I saw the Two: the Woman of Mystery and the Mother of Darkness. With mighty swords and shields of Power, they bitterly fought until one remained on high.

**(Across from her near the hull of Hayato, Pii watches her quietly. Wearing his full armor, the hunter's wings are open, suspended in their air by the thrust of the pack's jets. After she recovers, Nerti turns and meets his gaze with a soft smile. He nods before the two turn back to their work, the Terran likewise modifying the weapon system of the other Galaxy Police vessel.)**

**Ayeka:** "I wept, not only for the fallen, but also for the victor, and the victims yet to come: children thrust into a war that was not theirs. Among them, I could see green eyes shining back while a monster hung over them, muscle and flesh woven over branches and crystals.

**(Within the MiB's conference room, Yosho stands and points at a hologram of the earth hanging above the long table. With a motion of his finger, small versions of the six ships move into a new configuration while Zed weaves his digits together, listening interestedly. Azaka strokes his beard, considering the proposition carefully.)**

**Ayeka:** "The Five left me for the children, joining their battle with this Demon of Science. The battle grew ferocious, and I turned away, unable to watch these little ones put through such times. A roar cried out, forcing me to look again. From the children, a blaze stood with glorious wings, an Angel of Fire. This one was joined by the Woman of Mystery, and they cut down the Mother of Darkness.

**(Meanwhile, in the alley behind the Triborough building, young Sasami slips out of a door, Ryo-Ohki scampering behind at her feet. With a curious mew, the cabbit calls to her friend, but the Juraian princess merely waves ahead, running away from the structure as fast as she can.)**

**Ayeka:** "Around me, the heavens broke open and shone the Light down upon me. I smiled as I bathed in the Light, but the Angel turned to me, its wings open wide. 'Now, Jurai basks in both Light and Dark,' it said. Through the Light, I saw Jurai peaceful again, both our people and the Shadows parting without sword or whip. The palace was rebuilt, and a new age came to be for our people."

**(Soon, in the distance, Ryo-Ohki's meow can be heard as the crystalline ship rises and darts away into the sky.)**

Scene 2 – Resurrection

**(The stars twinkle above the Masaki residence in Okayama prefecture. The crickets chirp in the grasses while fireflies dart through the air, silently flashing their bio-luminescence. In the lake, the Juraian tree Ryu-Oh stands proudly, her branches extending over the waters below.)**

**(From above, the meow of Ryo-Ohki precedes the black ship's descent over the lake. The primary spine of the ship halts just over the water, pressure waves from the craft causing ripples in the surface. Similarly, Ryu-Oh's branches sway, shaking a few leaves loose.)**

**(Aboard Ryo-Ohki, Sasami slides from the floating wicker chair, her rosy eyes upon the grand tree via the primary display. The ship mews curiously to the preteen princess, the rhomboid primary crystal floating close to her. The girl grins, petting the gemstone kindly.)**

**Sasami:** I'm going to help her.

**(The cabbit's face appears in the gem, blinking her amber eyes confusedly with another mew. Sasami nods, her gaze growing distant.)**

**Sasami:** I know. I don't understand it all myself either.

**(Her smile grows warmly.)**

**Sasami:** But, I know Ayeka will love to see her in the sky again.

**(She glances to Ryo-Ohki's crystal and pets her again.)**

**Sasami:** Can you show me the holy tree near the Masaki shrine?

**(With an affirmative, the onyx vessel opens a small display window in the corner of the main screen. Here, a similar tree stands strong and venerable with many charms hanging around its trunk. Similar to Ryu-Oh, a pond surrounds this bastion, small stones leading up to its side from the bank. Sasami smiles warmly as her gaze seems nostalgic with her words.)**

**Sasami:** Hello, Funaho.

**(From the leaves of the tree, shots of light dart toward the water and ricochet upward in response. Ryo-Ohki blinks with surprise, her sight turning to Sasami's face. The color of the girl's eyes fades as the emblem upon her forehead shimmers. She smiles warmly, nodding to the holy tree Funaho.)**

**Sasami:** It has been decades since you flew, not since he brought you here by...

**(She pauses, the name eluding her for a moment.)**

**Sasami:** ... Yosho.

**(Again, the beams of sparkling light shine from the leaves of the plant, to which Sasami's brows furrow, shaking her head.)**

**Sasami:** You will be in combat. You know this.

**(Ryo-Ohki listens, her lids flapping when she recognizes melodic tones from the beams, a pattern of communication. She glances back to Sasami, who somberly replies to the coded statement.)**

**Sasami:** Very well. If you are sure.

**(The princess then turns her attention back to Ryu-Oh, the same worry for this tree as well.)**

**Sasami:** And you, Ryu-Oh?

**(A moment passes in silence before the leaves over the Masaki lake also chime out a solemn song in beams of light. Sasami nods, accepting this with a soft smile.)**

**Sasami:** Father...

**(Once more, she pauses, the names jumbled in her thoughts.)**

**Sasami:** ... the emperor was wise to pair you with Ayeka.

**(With a sigh, she closes her eyes, a gravity entering her voice.)**

**Sasami:** Ryo-Ohki, when I finish, you will have to guide them back to Manhattan.

**(Confused, the cabbit mews questioningly, but the princess shakes her head.)**

**Sasami:** You will understand in a moment.

**(The emblem upon her forehead burns brightly, changing once again to a pair of emerald discs. Her eyes pop open, certain and focused as a force around her shakes Ryo-Ohki's hull. The ship meows anxiously when Sasami's hair lightly drifts upward around her. Gently, she raises her young hands, one to each Juraian tree.)**

**(Upon the trunk of each, a brilliant white symbol appears emblazoned, similar to those seen throughout the Jurai palace. Specifically, these two share a water-based imagery, a great squall wrapping like wings around the bark of each. Softly, Sasami chants to herself, her voice echoing with far more maturity than her face shows.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Heaven to Ocean...

**(All the leaves of each tree shoot light around their roots, encasing each in a shroud of blinding light. Ryo-Ohki meows with surprise, her face fading from the gemstone at Sasami's side.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Ocean to Earth...

**(The ground around each tree rumbles and bursts, the plants levitating from the earth. Attached to the roots of both trees are the remains of a primary habitat unit, Juraian by manufacture. The one below Ryu-Oh is evidently from her original hull, crashed three years prior. However, the one connected to Funaho has eroded far more over the past decades, leaving little.)**

**(Sweat beads on Sasami's face as she narrows her eyes, strain telling in her expression and voice.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Earth back to Heaven...!

**(Slowly, the roots haul the units upward, situating the trees within their former homes. Around the holes, a new hull emerges from the old, sealing the plants again in protective shells. From these, wooden planks sprout and extend, blanched for Ryu-Oh and oaken for Funaho.)**

**(However, Sasami closes her eyes, exertion wearing on her as she tenses and starts to tremble. Then, she exhales and collapses to her knees, the emblem on her skin reverting to its previous, triangular pattern. Outside, the hulls of Ryu-Oh and Funaho remain partially completed, the brilliance fading away. Each starts to fall down toward their respective ponds under Earth's gravity.)**

**(Yet, they slow, their own inertial systems reformed and operational. Ryu-Oh and Funaho rise back aloft, steady and strong. Ryo-Ohki's central crystal mews as her face reappears, blinking at the two ships before her.)**

**(She then rushes to Sasami's side and meows urgently while the young princess holds herself up. She shivers, sweat covering her skin as she answers in her own voice.)**

**Sasami:** It's... alright...

**(She glances to the monitor, her rosy eyes bright and normal once again, though tired. Both Ryu-Oh and Funaho float in the air stably while Sasami catches her breath, swallowing dryly. Ryo-Ohki mews softly, anxious.)**

**(A tone calls Ryo-Ohki's attention to small icons in the corner of each image of the incomplete Juraian vessels. Confused, she blinks while the princess nods.)**

**Sasami:** They need your help...

**(The two meet gazes, Sasami's pleading to her friend.)**

**Sasami:** ... Talk with them... They haven't flown in years...

**(The cabbit's visage considers this for a moment, pondering through what she has just witnessed. However, she soon mews affirmatively and turns back to the two vessels outside. She meows, conversing with them as their melodic tones reply from the two images.)**

**(Sasami watches, smiling softly and joyfully at the interaction between the three. Yet, her hand shakes, catching her attention. Slowly, she closes it into a fist, focusing herself to keep it still. Quietly, she comments.)**

**Sasami:** Just a little more...

Scene 3 – Education

**(Atop the Triborough building, the morning sun slowly begins to warm the masonry of the roof. Breezes toss the cape and cowl of the bounty hunter Nagi as she holds her right hand before her, palm toward the sky. Her key is wrapped around her palm, the Juraian crest shimmering with a violet power.)**

**(Closing her eyes, she takes a slow breath before she refocuses her gaze upon the key. Concentration written on her face, her air hisses between her teeth as the shimmer grows to a spark across the device's surface. The huntress's digits curl as her eyes narrow, her will tightening with her muscles.)**

**(The spark arcs upward, curling toward itself, but Nagi sighs, letting the tension and power leave her. Frustration fills her face while she grips the key, her eyes shutting silently.)**

**(However, a clapping of palms draws her attention to the figure near the access door across the roof from her. There, the legendary knight Kamidake stands, his staff key resting against the door frame while his hands smack together in applause. Her eyes narrow coldly while he grins, his arms folding.)**

**Kamidake:** A nice attempt, Lady Nagi.

**(She closes her eyes and turns away from him, commenting.)**

**Nagi:** Another _failed_ attempt.

**(The nobleman takes his key in hand and walks toward her, inquiring in a more serious tone.)**

**Kamidake:** Have you been trying since the reunion?

**(Glancing over her shoulder at him, she answers.)**

**Nagi:** Yes.

**(She raises her hand, the key still wrapped around her palm.)**

**Nagi:** I was able to use this briefly then.

**(He stops near her, eying the Juraian artifact thoughtfully as he nods understandingly.)**

**Kamidake:** And, you haven't been able to since?

**(The huntress agrees, spurring a thought from the warrior.)**

**Kamidake:** I think I see why.

**(Furrowing her brows, Nagi turns to face him.)**

**Nagi:** Why?

**(Honestly, he motions to her hand curled around the key.)**

**Kamidake:** You've closed yourself to it.

**(With an irritated glare, the huntress meets his gaze.)**

**Nagi:** What do you mean?

**(Calmly, the warrior raises his staff between them, calling her attention to the artifact. Similar in composition to her hair-band key, the rod's length is organic, seemingly grown rather than shaped. Its headpiece blossoms in a crown of leaf-shaped protrusions from a central, spherical crest. This crimson orb rests quietly atop the weapon, a single golden ring floating around the headpiece.)**

**(Closing his eyes, the ring slowly rotates around the inset sphere, creating a soft hum. The violet crest of the hair-band key similarly glows gently and mimics the sound. Nagi glances to her device, questioning him.)**

**Nagi:** What did you do?

**(Kamidake answers, his eyes staying closed.)**

**Kamidake:** I asked my staff to speak with your key.

**(Confused, the huntress turns her gaze back to him.)**

**Nagi:** "Asked" your staff?

**(Kamidake affirms this, commenting.)**

**Kamidake:** Is it so different than your connection with Ken-Ohki?

**(The frustration in Nagi's face grows as she retorts.)**

**Nagi:** Ken-Ohki actually communicates with me. As you can see, this item doesn't answer my orders.

**(The ring's rotation ends as he sets the device upright at his side. Also, the resonance from Nagi's key fades. Opening his eyes, Kamidake nods, accepting her words.)**

**Kamidake:** Granted.

**(She glances down to the key around her hand, considering when she first felt Jurai's nature flow through her.)**

**Nagi:** You say I've "closed" myself to it. Then, why did it work once aboard Liaens's ship?

**Kamidake:** It was a reflex. You wanted to live, and your power reacted. Many have a similar story of their first awakening to the power.

**(With a heavy breath, she raises her steady eyes to his.)**

**Nagi:** Very well. How do I "open" myself and make it more than a simple reflex?

**(With a soft smile, the knight answers.)**

**Kamidake:** First, you should loosen yourself.

**(Kindly, he takes her closed fist in his free hand and explains.)**

**Kamidake:** All this tension diverges your focus away from your power and to your muscles.

**(She listens, her crimson eyes watching the genuine expression upon his face.)**

**Kamidake:** It's much like kata. Your mind gets distracted from the form when you worry about such things.

**(Honest and noble, he turns his gaze to meet hers.)**

**Kamidake:** You need to let the tension go.

**(A moment passes before she grins to herself with a scoff.)**

**Nagi:** "Relax", eh? Easy to say when a killer energy distortion is headed for us.

**(Wryly, Kamidake grimaces and acknowledges this.)**

**Kamidake:** True...

**(Closing her eyes, Nagi takes a step away from the knight before slowly inhaling through her nose. Gradually, she releases the breath through her nostrils, visibly loosening her body's tension somewhat. She repeats this few times, gaining a nod from her tutor.)**

**Kamidake:** Excellent.

**(He places his staff in his left hand and extends the device's headpiece toward a false exhaust vent on this roof front.)**

**Kamidake:** Now, mirror me.

**(Her eyes open, and she extends her hand and key toward the same vent, palm open. He speaks softly, his own breath controlled.)**

**Kamidake:** The Jurai power is part of you, an innate gift of the goddess herself. It flows naturally through you. You need only give it direction.

**(He adjusts his grip on his staff as he continues.)**

**Kamidake:** Feel it in your core, your center.

**(Her breath slows with his, her eyes coldly focused on the vent ahead.)**

**Kamidake:** It flows from there throughout your body, including your arm. See that power pass through your trunk, to your arm, and pool in your hand.

**(A soft emerald glow appears around Kamidake's hand, though a glare enters into Nagi's eyes. With his free hand, he motions gently toward her, correcting her.)**

**Kamidake:** Use your breath, not your will.

**(Unsure, her eyes dart to his when he adds the following two words.)**

**Kamidake:** Believe me.

**(A moment passes before she does take another breath, her eyes closing again. In her mind's eye, she pictures lines of force radiating through her body, in particular through her arm and hand. At her thought, these pool and mesh into her right hand while in reality, a similar emerald glow appears around her hand.)**

**(Pleased, Kamidake nods and complements her.)**

**Kamidake:** Good, Lady Nagi. Open your eyes.

**(Carefully, she opens her eyes and blinks in surprise at the power enveloping her hand. He continues.)**

**Kamidake:** Next, your key. Its power resonates with that of its wielder. See its flow like yours.

**(To her mind, Nagi sees similar lines of force passing through the key wrapped around her hand. These flow smoothly and orderly through the key, but skew to those extended from her hand, which are more erratic.)**

**Kamidake:** You have to synchronize yourself to the key.

**(Taking another breath, Nagi pictures the change in her head, the power of her hand aligning with the power of the key. At this, the glow around her hand vanishes while the crest of her key shimmers a deep, gorgeous violet. Nodding, Kamidake does likewise, the headpiece of his staff shining a powerful scarlet. The ring around the staff starts to rotate while he whispers to her.)**

**Kamidake:** Do you hear it?

**(In her thoughts, a whisper rises, a medley of voices that soon synchronize into the words "Accepted. Orders?". She blinks her eyes open nodding.)**

**Nagi:** Yes... I do.

**(Her eyes focus on the glowing crest while he instructs her once more.)**

**Kamidake:** Now, answer it.

**(The huntress's gaze centers on the vent again as she thinks her command for the key.)**

**Nagi:** Destroy...

**(In response, an orb of violet light flies from the key at the vent, smashing through it and a segment of the roof barrier beyond. She lowers her hand, the concentration fading with the energy in her key. Nagi sighs hard, the concentration having a slight toll on her. Kamidake lets the power in his staff fade as he sets it at his side and offers her his free hand.)**

**Kamidake:** It is draining at first.

**(She sighs hard and takes strong recovery breath, ignoring his kind offer. He glances aside and exchanges his staff back to his right hand, commenting.)**

**Kamidake:** That was very well done, Lady Nagi.

**(She turns to him with a question.)**

**Nagi:** Do you do all that every time?

**(He shakes his head, his gaze returning to her.)**

**Kamidake:** No, it comes far more quickly with practice. Most nobility start learning to control their power when they first start coming of age.

**(She scoffs, shaking her head.)**

**Nagi:** Lucky me.

**(She raises her hand again at another fake vent.)**

**Nagi:** I just have hours.

**(The huntress again summons her power as her practice begins under Kamidake's watchful eye. In his own thoughts, Kamidake considers her and the empty socket on her key.)**

**Kamidake:** "In _her_ right hand burned the Light, but _her_ left ..."

Scene 4 – Confession

**(In a modestly furnished room within the MiB headquarters, Tenchi Masaki stares up at the ceiling, his thoughts distant. A bed supports him, its sheets mildly in disarray from, no doubt, nervous turning. Dressed in his usual brown attire, he sets his hands behind his head and takes a slow breath, considering the words exchanged between the elder men recently.)**

**Yosho:** Ms Ro's weapons will help, but we'll still need to divide those with Jurai power to each of the ships.

**Azaka:** We each can project our energy outside the hulls. It will be a strain, but it should be more effective.

**Zed:** And, Washu's cannon?

**Azaka:** While I do not agree with its creation, I see its necessity here.

**Zed:** In the event that contact is lost with the surface, who will be in command?

**Azaka:** I had assumed Lord Yosho would be.

**Yosho:** Hmm... I can, should the need arise.

**Zed:** What about Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki? I don't believe Ryoko or Nagi will allow us to... modify them.

**Azaka:** Considering Ryua's evident connection to the distortion, I doubt the effectiveness of both Ryo-Ohki or Ken-Ohki to damage the enemy.

**Zed:** Then, both are useless.

**Yosho:** Since Nagi has the power herself, I believe she will still fly Ken-Ohki and use her own energies.

**Zed:** That leaves the pirate then.

**(Tenchi rolls onto his side, one forearm over his eyes as he sighs worriedly. Images of Ryoko and Ayeka drift through his thoughts while the past conversation continues in his thoughts.)**

**Azaka:** However, that leaves five ships and five other royal family members, one for each ship.

**Yosho:** Although, Pii's fighter is rather small as is the saucer.

**Azaka:** True, and we have not completely ascertained Ms Ro's complete nature.

**Zed:** Then, we'll just have to double up a couple places.

**Yosho:** So it would seem.

**(However, Tenchi's thoughts are interrupted when a knock comes to his door. He raises his attention toward the entrance before he rolls from the bed to his feet. The young man rubs his eyes, calling to the person on the other side.)**

**Tenchi:** Just a moment.

**(As he approaches the door, the prince runs his fingers through his short, black hair, smoothing a couple aberrant spikes against his scalp. Once he reaches the door, he sets his hand on the knob and starts to apologize.)**

**Tenchi:** Sorry. I was asleep. I...

**(However, upon opening the door, his words stop cold at the young woman standing opposite him. His brown eyes blink in surprise as they meet the quiet gaze of Ryoko. Standing dressed in her red and black combat attire, she also has her cyan locks tied behind her head. The former pirate shakes her head, softly correcting him.)**

**Ryoko:** No, you weren't.

**(Dumbly, Tenchi answers.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko...

**(coolly, she adds.)**

**Ryoko:** You were worrying like you always do.

**(At this, he glances down for a moment before she steps past him into the room. She eyes the slightly ruffled bed distantly while he pauses, considering her knowledge of his thoughts.)**

**Ryoko:** You haven't gotten any rest.

**(Tenchi turns back to her, acknowledging her.)**

**Tenchi:** No, not really... What about you?

**(She grins to herself, her amber eyes sliding toward him.)**

**Ryoko:** I never could sleep before a heist.

**(He smiles softly.)**

**Tenchi:** I guess we're both worriers then.

**(Her eyes close while the pleasant expression fades from his lips.)**

**Tenchi:** You do know that you can't talk me out of this.

**(Somberly, she accepts this.)**

**Ryoko:** I know. I wasn't planning on it.

**(The Ryoan woman faces him, adding.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm going to be at your side through all this, Tenchi.

**(He lowers his eyes with a nod.)**

**Tenchi:** I know. Earth is your home now too.

**(With a slow breath, she shakes her head and disagrees with him.)**

**Ryoko:** It's not just that, Tenchi.

**(Confused, he blinks with his question.)**

**Tenchi:** What do you mean?

**(Swallowing emptily, she glances at the ground and explains.)**

**Ryoko:** There's... a lot about me that you don't know, Tenchi.

**(The prince rests a hand on her shoulder, compassion in his voice.)**

**Tenchi:** I know. You've never talked about your past much.

**(His gaze droops from her eyes toward his hand and her shoulder, a solemn ignorance heard in his words.)**

**Tenchi:** I doubt it was a great time in your life.

**(Her left hand closes tightly while her right rests on his upon her collar. Surprised at her action, he meets her conflicted gaze and listens to her in silence.)**

**Ryoko:** The distortion... probably even the stuff with Mecha-Nerti and on Jurai... it was organized by my...

**(She pauses, pursing her lips as she grips his hand. Supportively, he waits, taking her hand in his.)**

**Ryoko:** ... my family.

**(A deep sympathy sweeps across Tenchi's face while she laughs to herself hollowly, shaking her head in denial.)**

**Ryoko:** The bastards always hated Jurai. I guess I should've expected something like this.

**(She glances aside, a glare breaking through her humored facade.)**

**Ryoko:** Not that I ever gave a damn about them...

**(Softly, he whispers to her, his concern evident.)**

**Tenchi:** ... What did they do to you...?

**(She forces a mild smirk and sighs softly, her eyes distant with a blend of hate and spite.)**

**Ryoko:** After Mom died, I was supposed to live with her brother, Shinya, but like I'd ever have anything to do with that asshole. He always preached on and on...

**(Carefully, he interrupts her.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko...

**(She stops, her eyes closing at his words.)**

**Tenchi:** You don't have to if...

**(The Ryoan woman closes her eyes tightly, her hands tight, much like her voice.)**

**Ryoko:** They wanted... to _change_ me, Tenchi...

**(Her eyes open and turn to his, a stray tear or two appearing at the edges of her eyes.)**

**Ryoko:** They wanted... to make me... a _monster_...

**(A chill shoots down Tenchi's spine as she continues her eyes burning with hate and rage, these feelings cracking into her voice.)**

**Ryoko:** That Illirg creature, the one that put Ayeka into a coma last year... _That_ was meant for _me_, Tenchi!

**(His eyes widen in realization while she closes her eyes, splashing the tears down upon her cheeks.)**

**Ryoko:** They wanted me to _hate_ Jurai... to _hate_...

**(She stops herself, holding his hand close to her. Then, a warmth embraces her as her lids reopen, seeing Tenchi wrap his free arm around her gently. Gently, he whispers to her ear.)**

**Tenchi:** I know you don't...

**(The former pirate hesitates, taken off her guard by his reaction and words. However, the closeness envelopes her as she snakes her arms around him, hugging him close to her. Though he normally would be embarrassed, the young prince accepts this and shares the embrace with her. Her heart tenses, pounding against her chest as she staggers her words in his ear.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi... I...

**(Her eyes raise as she smiles warmly and completes her sentence.)**

**Ryoko:** ... I love you...

**(He closes his eyes and nods, accepting this with a few soft words while his hands carefully stroke her back.)**

**Tenchi:** ... I know...

**(The Ryoan woman eases back to face him, a slight blush across her cheeks. His brown eyes meet the amber of hers, their breath mixing between them as he adds.)**

**Tenchi:** You're not a monster.

**(A stream of tears races down her cheek when she smiles at him. A moment passes before she leans closer, her face nearing his and her eyes narrowing dreamily. He watches her, an uncertainty tying in his heart until an alarm sounds throughout the building around them.)**

**(The attention of both is stolen from one another before the two glance to one another and nod. Instantly, Ryoko and Tenchi vanish, teleported away and leaving the door to the room open. In the corridor, another individual leans against the wall, tears streaming down her heartbroken face. Ayeka's eyes close tightly, her emotions welling within, screaming to be vented. However, she remains silent, her hands tight at her sides.)**

Scene 5 – Arrival

**(Alarms scream throughout the Manhattan base of the Men in Black. Standing in the INS room, Zed coldly gazes upon the primary display, the two squid-like creatures before him adjusting the image. Here, a diagram of the region between Earth and Mars is shown with a red dot speeding toward the blue planet. An arrow extends away from the dot to a small box of text describing the phenomenon including the following:**

NVO Distortion

Output: 175. E+015 W

Diameter: 1.02 E+003 m

Mass: 180. E+000 kg

Velocity: 15.2 E+006 m/s

**The chief agent strokes his brown beard, revealing a few grey hairs, when Tenchi and Ryoko appear at his side. Quickly, their eyes turn to the display before their startled questions arise.)**

**Ryoko:** What the hell?

**Tenchi:** What's happened?

**(Zed purses his lips and answers, his eyes still set upon the screen.)**

**Zed:** That's what I'd like to know.

**(A side door opens, allowing Yosho and Azaka to enter. They too direct their attention toward the display, both taken aback by the details listed.)**

**Azaka:** By the goddess herself...

**(Tenchi and Ryoko spin toward them as they approach.)**

**Tenchi:** Grandpa...!

**(The legendary man nods, his own grave concerns swarming his thoughts.)**

**Yosho:** I see it, Tenchi.

**(The elevator at the rear of the chamber opens, revealing Nagi and Kamidake. The knight likewise blinks in surprise at the map while Nagi furrows her brows.)**

**Nagi:** How is this possible?

**(Ryoko agrees.)**

**Ryoko:** Wasn't this thing at least another six hours out?

**(Kamidake joins Yosho and Azaka's side, the two knights exchanging a knowing glance before returning their sight to the coming danger. Along the catwalks above, two doors open, and from them enter Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Mitsuki, each rapidly eying those below and the celestial display. Kiyone and Mitsuki both are taken aback while Mihoshi gasps, her hand raising toward her lips.)**

**(Soon, J, L, and K' rush out of the same door, their gazes falling on the cause for the commotion. K' furrows his brows while L takes a sharp, surprised breath. J, however, calls down to Zed as the alarms whine down to silence.)**

**J:** What the hell is going on?

**(The chief of the MiB steps around to face the group, leaving an order to the squid-creatures.)**

**Zed:** Show them.

**(The screen partitions itself, shrinking the current display aside for another image. In the new blank space, a diagram of the solar system appears, mapping the orbits of each of the planets. Around this, a thick, grey shell is superimposed, labeled "Oort Cloud". A red dot then traces a path from outside the shell and dips into the grey region, marked "NVO Distortion".)**

**Zed:** We were tracking the distortion when it entered the Oort Cloud about an hour ago. However, moments ago...

**(He motions back to the screen then the dot suddenly vanishes.)**

**Zed:** ... it vanished and immediately reappeared next to Mars, cruising at about five-percent the speed of light.

**(The Oort Cloud diagram fades while the current tracking zooms back to fill the screen. Below a digital timer emerges, reading "00:54:21.94" and decreasing.)**

**Zed:** We have under an hour to be ready.

**(Uneasy gazes and murmuring sweep through the assembled cast, both named and the MiB staffers. Mitsuki then breaks into the doubting with her question.)**

**Mitsuki:** What about the Jurai cannon?

**(Attention falls on her while she asks again.)**

**Mitsuki:** Will it be done in time?

**(Zed raises a brow.)**

**Zed:** Good question.

**(He instructs the squids.)**

**Zed:** Boys, give me Dr Hakubi in the hangar.

**(The telemetry again is set aside when an image window opens, showing Washu, Pii, and Nerti gathered around the instrument panel of the modified dimensional cannon. Each is focused on their particular task: Washu's hands blurring over her phantom laptop, Nerti's fingers guiding up sliders on the cannon's instrument panel, and Pii splicing wires behind an overhead panel. Coolly, the minute genius instructs one of her assistants.)**

**Washu:** Decrease the power feed slightly, Nerti.

**(The blonde nods and does so while Washu directs her words to Zed without turning her attention away from the screen before her.)**

**Washu:** I'm aware of the distortion's teleport, Zed.

**Zed:** Then, will the cannon be ready?

**(Impatiently, she answers, her brows furrowing in concentration.)**

**Washu:** Not immediately, no. Especially not with interruptions.

**(Pii and Nerti both glance between one another uneasily before Kiyone's voice rises from the group.)**

**Kiyone:** What about the weapon systems for the ships?

**(Nerti glances toward the others and answers quickly.)**

**Nerti:** Those were finished and installed. All are combat-ready.

**(Zed grins and scoffs to himself.)**

**Zed:** That's something at least.

**(He turns to Yosho and the knights, an inquiry in mind.)**

**Zed:** What say we send up our little armada to buy them some time to finish?

**(Glancing from the monitor to the Terran chief, the Juraian nobleman agrees.)**

**Yosho:** It seems the best way.

**Zed:** Fine enough.

**(He takes a breath and issues his order.)**

**Zed:** Everyone, make ready for battle.

**(At this, Pii calls back to Zed.)**

**Pii:** I can't pilot Caroki if I'm here.

**(Zed grimaces and questions the genius nearby.)**

**Zed:** Washu, can you spare him?

**(Washu nods.)**

**Washu:** Yeah, he's not doing anything one of your men couldn't do.

**(Pii glances worriedly to Nerti, who looks him back with a few soft words.)**

**Nerti:** It's alright, Will.

**(The Ryoan scientist also adds.)**

**Washu:** I've been monitoring her.

**(He glances to her as she continues.)**

**Washu:** I'll take action if needed. Go do your job.

**(He closes his eyes and nods, stepping away and motioning toward an agent to take his place. The hunter turns back to Zed and acknowledges the appointment.)**

**Pii:** Alright. I'll have my ship in the air shortly.

**(He passes Nerti, dropping a kiss on her cheek. She closes her eyes, pausing her work while he leaves, heading for his ship. With worry across her face, she watches him depart until Washu calls to her.)**

**Washu:** He _will_ get hurt if you don't help here.

**(The blonde concurs and resets her attention on her immediate job. The hangar display fades away with Washu and Nerti working on the cannon and Pii donning his combat attire, leaving the group in the INS chamber. Zed motions to the GP officers and the three MiB agents nearby.)**

**Zed:** You have your orders too. Get the patrol-ships and the saucer in the sky.

**(Together, Kiyone, Mitsuki, and Mihoshi nod, spinning toward the door. J, L, and K' similarly exit from the catwalk and rush to the hangar with their GP counterparts. Zed now addresses Ryoko and Nagi.)**

**Zed:** What about your Ohkis?

**(Ryoko closes her eyes and listens to her thoughts but soon reopens them, worried. Nagi glances to her half-sister and furrows her brows.)**

**Nagi:** What's wrong?

**(The others turn to her when she shakes her head, confused.)**

**Ryoko:** I can't sense Ryo-Ohki.

**(Tenchi rests a hand on her shoulder with his concerned question.)**

**Tenchi:** How can that happen?

**Ryoko:** If she's too far away or something's blocking our link.

**(She glances back toward Nagi.)**

**Ryoko:** Last I checked, she was with Sasami and Ken-Ohki.

**(The huntress also closes her eyes and seeks her connection with Ken-Ohki. However, her crimson gaze opens shortly before the white cabbit phases through a nearby door and rushes to her mistress's feet. As he hops onto her shoulder, the half-Juraian woman inquires.)**

**Nagi:** Where have you been? Where is Ryo-Ohki?

**(He mews back at her, his tone serious. Confused, Nagi's brows raise while Kamidake asks her.)**

**Kamidake:** What does he say, Lady Nagi?

**Nagi:** He says that she is with Sasami.

**(Zed folds his arms.)**

**Zed:** That begs the question. Where is the little princess?

**(He then glances around the room and adds.)**

**Zed:** Moreover, where is the other princess?

**(The others glance around, noting Ayeka's absence before the elder princess does step through a side door near Yosho and the knights. She raises her amethyst gaze, sighting Tenchi and Ryoko quickly. They too notice her, but she is fast to glance away before Zed approaches her.)**

**Zed:** Nice of you to join us.

**(Though Tenchi and Ryoko both blink in surprise at her action, she questions him, her tone stable and controlled.)**

**Ayeka:** What is the cause for alarm?

**(He motions back to the screen, explaining shortly.)**

**Zed:** The distortion teleported inside the orbit of Mars.

**(She is taken aback by this while he continues.)**

**Zed:** Dr Hakubi's weapon isn't complete, and we have very little time to get our vessels into the air to stall for her.

**(Calming her agitation, she nods and accepts this.)**

**Ayeka:** Very well.

**(Azaka then steps forward and adds.)**

**Azaka:** Also, Ms Ryoko cannot locate Ryo-Ohki. According to Ken-Ohki, she was last with Princess Sasami. Would you know where they are?

**(Ayeka blinks, a guilt settling into her heart as she closes her eyes and shakes her head.)**

**Ayeka:** I'm sorry. I have been resting the last few hours. I have not seen either of them.

**(Ryoko raises a brow, catching that hint of guilty tension in Ayeka's voice. Yet, before another word is spoken, another alarm sounds through the headquarters. The assembled group turns back to the screen as the telemetry and timer are again set aside for a local camera recording the farmland facade outside the hangar. Zed frowns, questioning his subordinates.)**

**Zed:** What is it now?

**(Ryoko's eyes blink with a recognition as she whispers.)**

**Ryoko:** Ryo-Ohki?

**(Over the hangar's facade, the black crystalline ship Ryo-Ohki drifts into view with two other vessels close behind. Ayeka and Yosho both open their eyes wide at the side of Ryu-Oh and Funaho flanking Ryo-Ohki, their hulls completely regenerated. The grandfather glances to Azaka and Kamidake who exchange his awareness. He whispers only to them.)**

**Yosho:** She has returned... hasn't she...?

**(Together, the two knights nod, affirming his suspicions. Meanwhile, the others glance amongst themselves, confused by this turn of events.)**

**Zed:** I thought Jurai wasn't going to be able to send any ships.

**(Tenchi and Ryoko both turn to Ayeka.)**

**Tenchi:** Ayeka, isn't that Ryu-Oh?

**Ryoko:** Yeah, wasn't she a wreck in the lake back home?

**(Ayeka nods slowly, her own mind trying to process this.)**

**Ayeka:** Yes, she was rooted to her old hull after our... exchange three years ago... I thought she would never fly again...

**(Zed lowers his arms and states the facts himself.)**

**Zed:** Evidently, that isn't so true. What about the other ship? It's obviously Juraian as well.

**(Yosho answers frankly.)**

**Yosho:** She is my ship, Funaho, the one which brought me to Earth.

**(Confused, Tenchi also questions his grandfather.)**

**Tenchi:** Your ship, Grandpa? Where was it? I've never seen it before.

**(Yosho nods.)**

**Yosho:** I know you haven't. She crashed when I first came to Earth. Ever since, she has been known as the holy tree of the Masaki shrine.

**(His eyes widen at the realization.)**

**Tenchi:** You mean... that was your...?!

**(The great warrior acknowledges this fact while Zed makes an inquiry of his own.)**

**Zed:** If that's true, then your ship is several decades old and was previously wrecked. And, the same is true of hers. What are they doing here now?

**(Ryoko glances aside, Ryo-Ohki's mind speaking to hers. The former pirate then answers Zed's question.)**

**Ryoko:** Ryo-Ohki says they're here to fight as well.

**(All the others turn to her as she continues.)**

**Ryoko:** She and Sasami went to get them.

**(Ayeka lowers her eyes, considering this while Tenchi raises his hand at his side with his thought.)**

**Tenchi:** That doesn't explain how the two of them are flying again.

**(Ryoko glances aside, her eyes narrowed, but she sighs a moment later with a shake of her head.)**

**Ryoko:** I know, Tenchi. She isn't telling me how it happened.

**(Zed interjects, halting the questioning.)**

**Zed:** It doesn't matter now how they got here.

**(Yosho concurs.)**

**Yosho:** Indeed. If they are here to fight, then we should be sure that they can.

**Zed:** Right.

**(The Terran chief turns to his subordinates and issues his orders.)**

**Zed:** Open the hangar and let those three ships dock.

**(He then turns to the Juraians.)**

**Zed:** I'm sure all of you can ascertain their battle-readiness.

**Yosho:** That we can.

**(Tenchi directs his question to Ryoko.)**

**Tenchi:** Can you take us to the hangar, Ryoko?

**Ryoko:** Yeah, no problem.

**(She extends her hand, a disc of scarlet power appearing at her command. Soon, it shifts to a view of the hangar, a portal leading directly to the other location. Quickly, Tenchi rushes through the gateway, followed by Yosho, Azaka, and Kamidake. With Ken-Ohki on her shoulder, Nagi enters, though Ayeka pauses for a moment. She glances up to Ryoko, her eyes dancing with the screaming emotions within her. The former pirate blinks, the realization filtering into her gaze. However, the princess rushes into the doorway in silence. Ryoko pauses, a guilt of her own weighing within her chest. With a breath, she follows, allowing the portal to fade behind her.)**

**(In the hangar, the doors above open, letting the trio of ships above to enter. Ryu-Oh and Funaho gently nestle themselves alongside Yagami, Hayato, Caroki, and the Grey saucer. Ryo-Ohki, however, drifts over the assembled people, her red teleporter rings descending down her primary spine. Beneath, young Sasami materializes, curled in a dreamless slumber. Chills rush down Ayeka's vertebrae as she rushes to her sister's side and embraces her.)**

**Ayeka:** Sasami!

**(Tenchi and Ryoko also run to the side of the princesses while Ryo-Ohki changes into her cabbit form and floats down next to the azure-haired girl. She mews somberly while a team of MiB agents hurry over to them. Ayeka releases Sasami into their care, listening worriedly as they check her vital signs. Their leader soon turns back to Ayeka and explains.)**

**Medic:** Her vitals are strong. She seems just exhausted. We'll have to run a few more tests to be sure.

**(Ayeka nods, her worries lingering.)**

**Ayeka:** Please be sure.

**(A gurney is wheeled over to the slumbering princess for the men to load her upon it and roll her away. Ayeka stands with Tenchi and Ryoko, her gaze watching her sibling leaving in such a state. Nagi also observes the young girl's exit, her eyes softening at the sight. Yosho and the two knights also witness this, though with a deeper knowledge hidden in their gazes, particularly noting the marks upon the girl's forehead.)**

**(Tenchi rests a hand on Ayeka's shoulder, his words supportive.)**

**Tenchi:** She'll be okay, Ayeka.

**(Her eyes close as she draws her shoulder away from his grip and steps toward Ryu-Oh.)**

**Ayeka:** ... We have work to do...

**(Tenchi blinks dumbly while Ryoko sighs hard and shakes her head, the feeling tightening inside her. Yosho then pats his grandson on the back, catching both his attention as well as Ryoko's. Focused, he motions toward Funaho.)**

**Yosho:** She's right, Tenchi.

**(Tenchi nods reluctantly while the two march toward Funaho. Azaka and Kamidake also advance, the elder to Funaho and the younger to Ryu-Oh. Ryoko crosses an arm across herself watching them go while Nagi comes to her side quietly speaks.)**

**Nagi:** Whatever it is, don't think about it now.

**(Ryoko's eyes meet those of her sibling as the huntress continues gravely.)**

**Nagi:** We have other problems now.

**(Silently, the former pirate accepts this, her eyes turning up to the starry sky above. Likewise, Nagi gazes upward, considering the conflict to come.)**

Scene 6 – Distortion

**(Aboard the Grey saucer, J sits in a chair usually installed within an F-18 fighter, its fittings hastily modified to replace the original occupants' seats. Another chair is secured at his left while a console of screens and controls are arranged before him and the other seat. Specifically, two grips of a control yoke rise before the other chair. The dim lights of the console illuminate this dusky environment, save the bright screen directly before him. Here, L's face grins back to her partner.)**

**L:** I'm a doctor, J, not a pilot.

**(He scoffs and shakes his head.)**

**J:** Yeah, yeah. I know. You have to take care of the princess.

**(Sarcastically, she retorts.)**

**L:** No, it's actually because I'm tired of working with you.

**(J grimaces and glares mildly back at her.)**

**J:** That's just cold, Laurel.

**(She smiles wider and laughs to herself, and soon, he joins her. With a breath, she calms herself and turns her attention back to him seriously.)**

**L:** Take care, J.

**(He nods and glances up toward her with a slight correction.)**

**J:** It's "James".

**(Nodding, she accepts this.)**

**L:** Take care, James.

**(Footsteps ascend from below as he taps a key before him, clearing L from his screen. From a ramp descending below the chairs, K' enters this reconfigured cockpit and seats himself behind the control yoke. As the younger agent depresses toggles and flips switches, the vehicle around them begins to hum to life. J glances over to the pilot and comments.)**

**J:** So, why am I stuck with a rookie like you?

**(K' curls a lip as the primary monitor winks to life before them, displaying the hangar outside.)**

**K':** Because I have a class A pilot rating.

**(With a glare, the blonde man turns to his companion and retorts.)**

**K':** The better question is, why do I get stuck with you? Just over a year ago, you were a no-name, New York City detective. You have no military record, no distinctions, nothing that would merit a post at this organization.

**(J scoffs and folds his arms.)**

**J:** What've you been doing, snooping through my file?

**K':** I like to know who I'm saddled with.

**(Lowering his brow, J answers this.)**

**J:** Same here, Captain Hiller.

**(Blinking, K' is taken aback while the senior agent explains his knowledge.)**

**J:** Captain Kirk Hiller, recruited from Fort Bragg where you were a tank commander, graduated top of your class from Westpoint military academy, hoped to some day be a great general and merit to your country.

**(J scoffs and adds.)**

**J:** But, you're a pure-bred ass, just like the soldier-boys they interviewed with me. Can't even take a shit without an order from above.

**(K' opens his mouth to bark back, but a translucent screen appears before the pair bearing Zed's mildly irritated face.)**

**Zed:** Boys.

**(Both turn to face him while the chief continues.)**

**Zed:** We have a killer distortion on its way to Earth. You two can wrestle over your quibble later.

**(J sighs and shakes his head as K' acknowledges this order.)**

**K':** Yes, sir.

**Zed:** Now, join the others. The distortion will arrive soon.

**(As this display winks away, J and K' strap themselves into their chairs before the younger man grips the controls. Below, the gantry lifts and seals into the hull while the mooring cables pop free, the hissing of coolant signaling their freedom from the ground. The saucer floats with a quiet hum as K' lightly pulls back on the control yoke.)**

**(However, the ship rolls forward, smacking into the dock and startling several agents amongst the ground crew. Aboard, the straps hold J and K' fast as they jerk forward. J spins to K' who shakes his head and clears the shock from the unexpected impact. The senior agent glances to his current partner and questions coldly.)**

**J:** "Oops"?

**(K' glares back at him when he pushes gently forward on the control yoke. Carefully, the vessel lifts away from a minor dent in the dock. Free, the ship rotates around and soon races out from the hangar's open doors and into the sky.)**

**(In orbit over Earth, the small armada awaits the arrival of its final member: Funaho, Ryu-Oh, Ryo-Ohki, Ken-Ohki, Yagami, Hayato, and Caroki. Flanked by the two crystalline Ryoan ships, the two Juraian vessels stoically direct their prows toward the distant constellations. Meanwhile, the remaining two GP patrol-ships and Pentinian fighter drift a short distance away, their bows directed out into the same distant direction.)**

**(Aboard Funaho's bridge, Yosho stands strong with his arms folded, his eyes on the communication windows open before him. Behind him to his right, Tenchi stands with the Tenchiken key in hand. Dressed in his blue combat attire, the young man listens to his grandfather speak to the assembled crews. Nearby, Azaka resolutely poised with his staff key near the central tree.)**

**(In each communication window, one ship's crew faces back to the legendary warrior: Ayeka in her pinkish combat uniform with Kamidake nearby; Ryoko with the side of her face darkened by her power in her flaming costume; Nagi coolly gazing back with her cape around her shoulders; Kiyone and Mihoshi dressed in their orange and black flight suits; Mitsuki similarly dressed; and Pii wearing his cap and visor with his combat armor. Next to them, another window opens displaying J and K' aboard their saucer, drawing Yosho's attention to them.)**

**Yosho:** There you are. How is your ship holding up?

**K':** Well, Lord Yosho.

**(J scoffs and adds.)**

**J:** Yeah, for an overhauled jalopy. It's been rattling the whole way up.

**(Kiyone nods adding.)**

**Kiyone:** That ship is nearly forty years old, even with the refit.

**(K' scowls and nods.)**

**K':** I'll try not to push it too hard then.

**(J then addresses Yosho.)**

**J:** Has Zed said anything yet?

**Yosho:** Not yet.

**(Mihoshi glances down, commenting.)**

**Mihoshi:** It's getting very close now.

**(Kiyone concurs.)**

**Kiyone:** We should get ready.

**(Nagi agrees, closely followed by Ryoko, Mitsuki, J, and Pii. Yosho nods and issues his command.)**

**Yosho:** Very well. Take flanking positions around Funaho and Ryu-Oh.

**(Each crew acknowledges this as their image winks away, all save Ayeka. She glances aside distracted when Kamidake approaches her and rests a hand on her shoulder. The princess raises her head with a start toward the young knight when Yosho addresses her.)**

**Yosho:** Are you alright, Ayeka?

**(Tenchi watches her distantly and in silence as her gaze coasts toward him. With a settling breath, she pushes her thoughts aside and answers the grandfather.)**

**Ayeka:** I'm just anxious, Gran...

**(She pauses, correcting herself.)**

**Ayeka:** ... Lord Yosho. I'll ready Ryu-Oh for the assault.

**(With this, her visage flickers away, leaving a dumbfounded expression on Tenchi's face. Azaka glances to the young prince, a concern not only for him, but also the princess aboard the other ship. Yosho calls to Tenchi, gaining his attention.)**

**Yosho:** Tenchi.

**Tenchi:** Yes, Grandpa?

**(The elder noble faces his grandson, his stoic face masking his emotions in this delicate time.)**

**Yosho:** This is not the time to dwell on other problems.

**(Tenchi's eyes lower while his ancestor continues.)**

**Yosho:** You need to be focused here, on this ship.

**(Though his belly churns, the young man nods, accepting this.)**

**Tenchi:** Yes, sir.

**(Yosho then steps forward and sets a hand on his descendent's shoulder. Looking up, Tenchi sees the paternal kindness in those ruddy-violet eyes.)**

**Yosho:** There will be time enough for everything else once we are finished here.

**(Nodding, Tenchi takes a breath and agrees. The prince's eyes glance to Azaka, whose face echoes the other nobleman's words.)**

**(Meanwhile, aboard Ryu-Oh's bridge, Kamidake worriedly regards Ayeka.)**

**Kamidake:** Princess, there is something wrong. You have never, in all the time I have known you, addressed Lord Yosho by his title.

**(The ache in her heart returns, drawing her arms around her shoulders as she sighs. Quietly, she pulls her shoulder away from him, answering softly.)**

**Ayeka:** Now is hardly the time to worry about me, Kamidake...

**Kamidake:** Princess...

**(She turns her gaze back to the starry void upon her monitors, her eyes glistening, but also with an anger latent beneath them.)**

**Ayeka:** Let's focus on that for now.

**(Within her thoughts, her voice echoes that sentiment.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** After all... he _doesn't_ love you... Why not vent your frustrations...?

**(Outside, the armada forms a pyramidal design behind Funaho and Ryu-Oh, other six vessels spreading themselves around evenly in support of the two authentic Juraian crafts. A few moments pass, each member of this force watching the cosmic depths for the enemy's approach. Sweat beads on brows. Breaths are slow and controlled.)**

**(Aboard each ship, a window appears with Zed's face speaking to them.)**

**Zed:** Look alive. It's slowing.

**(Ahead of the armada, a bright flash of white sparks as the black sphere appears from this burst. Around it, a crimson aura flares, defining its shape against the star-studded tapestry. Roughly twice the size of Ryu-Oh or Yagami, the distortion slows to a stop 2 km ahead of the gathered ships.)**

**(Tension rises amongst the crews. Tenchi's eyes widen at first, but soon settle in determination as he holds Tenchiken. Yosho coolly eyes this adversary, considering his options. Azaka exhales slowly, lowering his staff into his hands. A chill rushes down Ayeka's spine, but that anger burns in her eyes as she grips her hand at her side. Kamidake reaches his free hand to his staff, his eyes never leaving the enemy. Ryoko glares hatefully at this energy form, no doubt in her mind who sent it. Nagi carefully takes the hair-band key from her spiked locks, the device wrapping around her hand at the ready.)**

**(Kiyone takes a slow breath, her hands hovering over Yagami's control panels. Mihoshi swallows dryly, also calming herself with her digits centimeters above Yagami's weapons screens. Mitsuki flexes the fingers of her metallic hand, the old wound aching with the revenge buried in her eyes. J sets his hands on two control levers before him, thumbs nearing two crimson triggers as a reticle appears over the distortion's image. The gaze of his pilot widens, a newfound fear at this unnatural phenomenon before him. A reticle also glows to life in Pii's visor while he tightens his grip on his fighter's control yoke and weapon triggers.)**

**(Zed turns to the side, watching the telemetry on the main display in MiB headquarters. Likewise, MiB agents pause and turn their eyes toward the danger holding so far above them. In the hangar, Washu and Nerti both pause to look at the genius's phantom laptop, watching also their opponent hanging in space. Quickly, Washu types a few commands, and other screens appear, recording data not only from the distortion, but also from the eight ships opposing it. Nerti, however, raises her hand to her lips as a tightness twists her belly. Recognition fills her eyes, alongside fear.)**

**(A moment passes in silence, all seeming to hold their breath while the distortion merely holds its position and flares eerily. Zed then takes a breath to issue his order when a static envelops his communication window on every ship in the armada. On Earth, Zed is taken aback and immediately turns to his technicians, though all other telemetry is unaffected.)**

**(Aboard Funaho and Ryu-Oh, a garbled voice is heard briefly in the static, raising questioning gazes from all five Juraians aboard. However, on Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki, Ryoko and Nagi both hear the message clearly, like a women's choir speaking in unison.)**

**Unison Voices:** Children...

**(On Earth, Nerti gasps before she hastily reaches forward and depresses a key on Washu's laptop. The genius turns to the blonde when a communication window appears to Pii on Caroki. Terrified, she blurts out to him.)**

**Nerti:** _Will_!! _Move_!! Get out of its _way_!!

**(He glances to her, surprised, but then turns his attention back to the distortion. Around the orb, the aura burns a darker and more violent red. Immediately, he slaps a key on his console and yells across an audio channel to the other ships.)**

**Pii:** _Evasive_!!

**(With this, he grabs Caroki's control yoke and pulls hard. Each of the other crews return their attention to the distortion and react. Quickly, Kiyone, Mitsuki, and K' mimic Pii's maneuver. These four ships split away as do the Juraian and Ryoan ships at their masters' respective commands.)**

**(From the distortion, two columns of fiery light explode forward, each enveloping one of the two Juraian crafts. Around both Funaho and Ryu-Oh, a spherical, transparent field protects the hull, but each blast seems to corrode at the barrier, darkening and bulking it. Aboard these ships, the decks shake viciously, toppling each of the five Juraians. Tenchi rolls back to a crouching stance as does Yosho. Azaka tucks his staff in his roll until he extends a foot and regains a half-kneeling posture. Kamidake mirrors this while Ayeka shrieks, landing hard on her side.)**

**(Ryoko calls to Tenchi as she steers Ryo-Ohki at the pair of Juraian ships. Aboard Yagami, Kiyone steers the patrol-ship back toward the distortion as she calls to the others.)**

**Kiyone:** _Open fire_!!

**(Mihoshi's fingers slam down on the keys before her. From Yagami's batteries, emerald beams of power burst forward and clash against the crimson pillars blitzing Funaho and Ryu-Oh. Likewise, Hayato, Caroki, and the saucer spin toward the enemy and release their volleys of this pseudo-Jurai energy.)**

**(Upon impact, the green light sparks, filaments of the two colors flying from the sites. Much like the Juraian shields, the waves of blazing scarlet corrode, their color dimming and darkening from the outside interference.)**

**(Ken-Ohki's purple rays gather and shoot forth, directed at the primary mass of the enemy. However, his attacks melt away into the dark orb without any visible effect. Aboard the white Ryoan craft, Nagi glares coldly, gripping her key tightly in her hand.)**

**(Soon, the distortion ends its assault on the two Juraian ships, letting the columns of brilliant light fade. The four mechanized crafts swarm the distortion, their emerald beams slicing open purple wounds in the phenomenon. However, protrusions shoot forth from the mass, pairs of spikes aimed at each ship. All four pilots pull hard and away from the pinching attacks, dodging away and continuing their attack.)**

**(Meanwhile, aboard Funaho, Tenchi, Yosho, and Azaka rise back to their feet while a screen appears near Azaka listing the damage sustained. His eyes set on the target, the legendary warrior addresses the knight behind him.)**

**Yosho:** How are we, Azaka?

**(Azaka reads down the list, commenting.)**

**Azaka:** Our shields took a hard hit, but are still functional.

**(A communication window appears near Tenchi with Ryoko's worried face calling to him.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi, are you alright?

**(He nods with his answer.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah, we're alright.

**(He glances over to Ryu-Oh's image, his own worry evident.)**

**Tenchi:** How are Ayeka and Kamidake?

**(Yosho nods as a window to Ryu-Oh opens, showing Kamidake helping Ayeka to her feet.)**

**Yosho:** Are you two alright?

**(Ayeka nods as she takes a step from Kamidake.)**

**Ayeka:** We are.

**(A similar damage report appears before the princess while she skims it with heavy brow. Concerned, Tenchi inquires.)**

**Tenchi:** How is she, Ayeka?

**Ayeka:** We're still combat-ready here.

**(Yosho glances to Kamidake, who affirms this before the elder prince asks his question.)**

**Yosho:** Are you ready, Ayeka?

**(With a firm expression, she nods in silence. The great man accepts this and turns back toward the distortion.)**

**Yosho:** Very well. Engage the enemy, Princess Ayeka.

**(She acknowledges this before her image winks away. Ryu-Oh advances, her gun-ports opening across her hull. Aboard, Ayeka takes a slow, steady breath while Kamidake raises his staff before him. Its crest spins while his ruby power gathers into the headpiece, his free hand extending over his weapon. Outside, his energy coalesces just outside the hull while the ship's weapons charge.)**

**(The Juraian vessel then accelerates quickly ahead, her weapons freely firing their volleys down upon the enemy. Each shot pits the surface of the flaring darkness, purple ooze bursting like blood from each of these so-called wounds. Kamidake's power explodes forward as a coherent blast, burning and scarring a path across the shell of the distortion.)**

**(Similarly, the gun-ports on Funaho's hull open and ready themselves while on the bridge, Yosho turns to Tenchi and Azaka, all three knowing their duty. However, a window opens before the grandfather with Nagi's face upon it. Gravely, she reports.)**

**Nagi:** We have a problem.

**(Solemnly, Yosho anticipates this.)**

**Yosho:** No effect?

**(She shakes her head.)**

**Nagi:** None at all.

**(Ryoko sighs hard, frustration clear on her face. Tenchi glances to her, sympathy in his expression while Yosho accepts the information.)**

**Yosho:** I'm sorry.

**(Undeterred, Nagi continues.)**

**Nagi:** I'll use my own power instead.

**(Tenchi, Ryoko, and Azaka blink in surprise, though Yosho nods quietly.)**

**Yosho:** Be careful.

**Nagi:** Acknowledged.

**(The huntress's image flickers away as Ken-Ohki also rushes into the fray. Aboard the white ship, Nagi raises her hands much like Kamidake, her eyes focused in concentration. Outside, her regal violet power appears and soon bursts forward much like the crimson knight had done, carving into the distortion. However, sweat beads on her brow, eliciting a worried mew from her companion.)**

**(Back within Funaho, Yosho motions toward the enemy.)**

**Yosho:** Now, our contribution.

**(Ryoko interjects, her screen turning to face him.)**

**Ryoko:** What about me?

**(Yosho glances to her, a thoughtfulness to his eyes. Azaka comments.)**

**Azaka:** Considering that Ken-Ohki's weapons had no effect...

**(Concerned, Tenchi offers a suggestion.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko, you could go back to Earth...

**(She immediately spins back to him, barking at him with a glare.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm _not_ going to back out of this, _Tenchi_!!

**(Tenchi looks down for a moment but then back to Ryoko's eyes, which dance with her worry and frustration. She settles herself some with a breath.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm not leaving, Tenchi.

**(However, Yosho motions to Ryoko.)**

**Yosho:** While you can't attack with us, I believe you can help.

**(Ryoko turns to him as he continues.)**

**Yosho:** Funaho is a strong ship, but should she fall, we could move to Ryo-Ohki.

**(Tenchi interjects.)**

**Tenchi:** Grandpa!

**(The grandfather glances to his descendant, but then back to Ryoko as she nods and accepts this.)**

**Ryoko:** Good enough.

**(She closes her eyes for a moment before she looks over to Tenchi quietly. He sees again that longing gaze as her image winks away. A weight hangs in his stomach while Yosho turns to Azaka and nods. Much like Kamidake, the azure knight extends his staff before him and gathers his power into the device. Tenchi, however, questions his grandfather.)**

**Tenchi:** Why did you let her stay, Grandpa? She doesn't have to be here.

**(Yosho shakes his head and answers plainly.)**

**Yosho:** You know why I couldn't send her away, Tenchi.

**Tenchi:** But...!!

**(The legendary warrior interrupts sternly.)**

**Yosho:** We have a job to do, Tenchi.

**(Surprised at the tone, Tenchi listens.)**

**Yosho:** ... and so does she.

**(Closing his eyes, Tenchi agrees in silence before Yosho turns toward the primary display, watching the battle ahead coolly. Outside, Funaho shoots toward the distortion as well, her weapons sending forth volleys of dart-like bolts. These smash into the surface, pitting it with craters of the enemy's purple blood. Two beams of blue and azure appear near the ship's hull and burst forth into beams which cut oozing scars into the enemy, Tenchi and Azaka's contribution. Close behind Funaho, Ryo-Ohki follows, Ryoko watching the waves of attack with her hands clenched in furious frustration.)**

**(Across the enemy, the eight vessels from Earth continue their respective assaults. However, near Yagami, two portions of the enemy arc upward ahead of the GP patrol-ship. Aboard, Kiyone's eyes sight the change in morphology as she enters a new heading into the system. The ship jerks, arcing its path away while Mihoshi fans her fingers into a panel, igniting the ship's weapons. The beams of mimicked Jurai power slice into the protrusions, severing them from the overall mass.)**

**(Hayato and the saucer race over the enemy's surface when bursts of scarlet fly from the distortion. Both roll aside, letting the shots slip away into the void. Then, Hayato turns back to the enemy, Mitsuki's eyes heatedly glaring at her targeting system. Reticles trace the paths of the beams, but her cross-hairs lock upon the origin of one of the beams. Emphatically, she slams her organic fingers against the fire controls, sending her own shots into the distortion. On impact, the surface is disfigured, ceasing one of the beams.)**

**(Yet, the other grows into a pillar of crimson light, suddenly sweeping toward Ryu-Oh. Aboard the tree-ship, Ayeka gasps sharply as her tiara shimmers. The craft arcs its trajectory away from the enemy attack while Kamidake sweeps his own ruby power at the opposing energy. The two beams intersect, clashing in a burst of black and white, but the mighty dark pillar smashes through the young knight's power.)**

**(The pillar slides toward Ken-Ohki, where Nagi glares coldly from the crystalline bridge. The white ship rolls away when Caroki and the saucer rise to flank him. Next to the huntress, windows open with J and Pii's faces commenting.)**

**Pii:** More powerful than the first two.

**J:** No shit. Got any ideas?

**(Nagi rubs her right hand, adjusting her key while she thinks. However, the pillar of power fades away, drawing surprised looks from all three attendees. Sarcastically, Pii comments.)**

**Pii:** Not quite what I expected...

**(From the former location of the pillar's base, four spikes emerge, blade-like wings spreading like barbs on an arrowhead. Nagi raises her keys again while J and Pii grip their triggers. Yet, these bladed spikes snap away from the distortion of their own accord, taking these three aback.)**

**(Each darts away quickly, one directly at the trio of ships. Both J and Pii open fire, but the object speeds at them faster than their tracking systems can follow. Nagi blinks and takes a step back with an order to her companion.)**

**Nagi:** Ken-Ohki, evasive...!

**(Before she can finish, the small enemy vanishes and reappears on Ken-Ohki's bridge in front of his mistress. The object extends claws and fangs as it shifts into a beastly shape. However, the huntress closes her hands around her key, her concentration centered on the device. A regal violet blade appears at her command, spurring a surprised expression in the monster before her. She swipes at the creature, and though it does avoid this, her following thrust finds its mark. Gnashing metallic and crystalline sounds writhe within the beast as purple ooze flows from the wound. With a glare, Nagi flares her power through the key, her blade flashing brightly inside the creature and burning it from within. She sighs heavily and steps away, her concentration strained as monster collapses into a scorched heap.)**

**(Another of these dark blade shoots toward Ryu-Oh. Ayeka and Kamidake sight it and turn the might of the Juraian vessel toward the singular enemy. The blade rolls from side to side, avoiding the volley of brilliant blasts, but Kamidake's crimson beam punches across the distance. The small segment of darkness tries to roll away, but it then is riddled by Ryu-Oh's batteries. The knight sweeps his power upward, reducing the creature to a brief vapor before oblivion.)**

**(The final two rocket their way toward Funaho and Ryo-Ohki, one directed at each craft. Aboard Funaho, Yosho directs his ship's weaponry toward the pair while Tenchi and Azaka swipe their power at one of the two enemies. The one flying at Funaho directly soon meets a fate similar to its comrade, but the one shooting toward Ryo-Ohki escapes the volleys from Funaho as it nears the black Ryoan ship. Also, Tenchi's beam of power misses the rapid motion of the enemy as it races at the crystalline vessel.)**

**(Aboard Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko forms her scarlet sword before the entity vanishes and reappears on her bridge. Ionized waves flow off the woman's weapon as she charges the being, a vicious swipe leading. Yet, the edge passes into the creature and smoothly exits it with no damage, as if merely slicing through harmless water. The monster assumes its beastly form much like aboard Ken-Ohki while Ryoko glances at her sword and back to her opponent. She scoffs, commenting.)**

**Ryoko:** ... Well, shit...

**(The beast claws at her, but she jumps aside, throwing her blade at its center of mass. The glowing blade enters the monster and disperses inside, fading into the black mass and crimson aura. Growling in crystalline and metallic tones the beast advances on her while she eyes it carefully. She calls to her companion.)**

**Ryoko:** Take it out, Ryo-Ohki!

**(Meowing affirmative, the crystal units flowing around the bridge encircle the invader, their bladed edges aimed at it. Each then burns a dark ruby before issuing a burst of power into the monster. Again, the attacks filter away into the creature, leaving no damage as it continues to advances. Anxiety fills Ryoko's feline eyes as she sighs, cocking her head to the side.)**

**Ryoko:** Oh, this fucking _sucks_!

**(The creature knocks Ryo-Ohki's crystals aside, spurring a pained meow from the cabbit. The beast swipes at Ryoko again, but the former pirate teleports across the room from the enemy as she hastily considers her situation.)**

**Ryoko:** It's too cramped in here...!!

**(To Ryo-Ohki, she orders.)**

**Ryoko:** Take us into the atmosphere!

**(Ryo-Ohki confirms this, and the black ship shoots down toward Earth, slicing through the clouds within moments.)**

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho watches the enemy vanish from sight shortly before Ryo-Ohki shoots down into the atmosphere. Aghast, Tenchi cries out.)**

**Tenchi:** _Ryoko_!!

**(Windows open around Yosho, communications from the other six ships. In particular, Nagi breathes heavily, wiping some sweat from her brow as she reports.)**

**Nagi:** That was... unexpected...

**(Ayeka nods, worry in her voice.)**

**Ayeka:** Quite. What were those?

**(Tenchi then spins to the others, his own impatience forcing its way out.)**

**Tenchi:** It doesn't matter. One's aboard with Ryoko!

**(Gazes widen, and gasps are heard. A mixture of jealousy and guilt pool within Ayeka while Nagi's eyes glance aside with a curse under her breath.)**

**Nagi:** Goddammit...

**(The huntress's face winks away while Ken-Ohki shoots away, following after Ryo-Ohki. Kamidake calls to her, surprised at her action.)**

**Kamidake:** Lady Nagi!

**(A softness filters into Yosho's eyes as he glances to Tenchi's own frustration. The grandfather turns to the other crews and gives his instructions.)**

**Yosho:** The rest of you continue attacking the primary mass. We'll handle the piece on Ryo-Ohki.

**(Kiyone acknowledges this, joined by Mitsuki, Mihoshi, J, and K'. Pii also nods, glancing to Tenchi.)**

**Pii:** Hurry, Tenchi.

**(Ayeka glances aside, her feelings in conflict, but she does nod as her eyes slide back to him.)**

**Ayeka:** Hurry, and take care.

**(The other screens vanish while Yosho and Tenchi exchange a determined and knowing gaze. Together, they spin to the primary display as Funaho turns toward Earth and chases down after Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki.)**

**(Meanwhile, aboard Ryo-Ohki, Ryoko dodges the creature's claws, rolling and sliding away, as well as teleporting about the bridge. Her breath heaves her chest, her focus squarely on this beast chasing her. She comments under her breath, glancing to the primary display.)**

**Ryoko:** Son of a bitch...!

**(Seeing the clouds, she glances back slyly at the monster when she teleports herself out into the open sky. Likewise, the beast appears close to her, its claws outstretched toward her. She turns away when crimson whips flick from the tips of his claws and wrap around her arms, legs, torso, and neck. She jerks to a stop, wrenching against these restraints when a chill consumes her. These lines of force burn a deep scarlet as pulses of light pass from her body along the lines. Pain wracks her as she screams out, the mark upon her face flickering and fading.)**

**(Ryo-Ohki hisses as she rotates her primary spine toward the beast. However, the creature extends its free set of claws at her and summons a black orb of its power into its palm. This bursts forth, scorching and smashing into Ryo-Ohki's hull.)**

**(As smoke rises from the dark Ryoan ship, its white counterpart roars downward enveloped in the flames of reentry. His mistress furrows her brows in concentration, her violet blade reappearing. The monster shoots a similar pulse toward Ken-Ohki, and he spins aside to avoid it. Yet, Ryoko's eyelids droop weakly, her voice calling out.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...

**(Aboard Funaho, Tenchi watches this, his grip on his sword's hilt tight. Its violet crest shimmers while he shakes his head slowly with some words under his breath.)**

**Tenchi:** This isn't fast enough...!

**(Within his thoughts, a medley of voices ask him, "What do you need?". He answers plainly.)**

**Tenchi:** I need to be there with her...

**("Acknowledged" rings in his mind when an emerald light surrounds him. Azaka spins to the young prince while a window appears before Yosho, displaying the following text in Juraiji: "Command Override: Teleport Engaged". His eyes widen as he spins back to his grandson. Both men call to him, but he vanishes from sight.)**

**(With Ryoko, the blue blade of Tenchiken swipes through the wires holding her as Tenchi wraps an arm around the Ryoan woman and pulls her close. The entity roars while the pair start to fall down toward Earth, the air around them wailing as they plummet. Behind them, the monster shifts back into its sleek form and shoots down after them.)**

**(Aboard Ryu-Oh, anxiety consumes Ayeka as she watches this all transpire via telemetry. She shakes her head, the crest of her tiara shining brightly.)**

**Ayeka:** _Tenchi_...!!

**(Ryu-Oh turns away from the distortion and toward Earth when the voice in her mind returns once again.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** He doesn't love _you_, you fool!

**(Openly, she barks back at these words.)**

**Ayeka:** But, _I_ love_ him_!!

**(Coldly, the voice answers.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** Then, watch him die.

**(At this, the glow of her tiara fades away to silence, as does the sounding of Ryu-Oh's weapons. Kamidake breaks his concentration and turns to her confused while she glances around the unmoving ship. Desperation wraps around her heart as she orders Ryu-Oh vocally.)**

**Ayeka:** _Move_!! God, please _move_!!

**(He starts to speak when a communication window opens before them both. Looking back, Washu calls to all the crews.)**

**Washu:** We're done! Everyone scatter _now_!!

**(With a short nod, Kamidake raises his staff and quickly acknowledges Ryu-Oh. Around the distortion, the remaining armada ships pull away, leaving the wounded enemy solitary. Down below, five emerald glows appear on the far horizon. From directly below, a mighty wave of brilliant white light explodes upward, piercing the sky straight and true. This blast passes close by Tenchi and Ryoko, catching his gaze back upward at the black distortion. Funaho and Ken-Ohki peal off from their pursuit, evading the incoming offense.)**

**(The beam smashes into the blackness, ripping through layers of the shadowy power as it nears the center. However, it suddenly stops, splashing off some impediment cloaked by the brightness of the attack itself. Shortly afterward, the beam fades, allowing the darkness to quickly close its wounds, though having lost a great deal of mass.)**

**(With Tenchi, he watches this, amazed at the reaction when the enemy chasing him reacquires his attention. It extends a set of claws toward him, and he wraps his arms around Ryoko tightly. The crimson lines whip out, clashing along a spherical shield around the pair. Gripping the sword key tightly, Tenchi strains, the restraints smoldering and sparking against the protective barrier. The enemy then draws them close, enveloping the shield within itself. With a flash of white, the creature vanishes, along with Tenchi and Ryoko.)**

**(High above, the distortion spreads itself thin, stretching as a pair of ebony wings around Earth. Yagami, Hayato, and the saucer immediately open fire on the darkness, but the damage does nothing to halt the expansion. Pii, however, pushes his control yoke forward, speeding his ship to the other side of the great shadow. The other three mobile craft try to follow, but soon, the darkness completely closes around Earth. Isolated, Yagami, Hayato, and the saucer drift back to Ryu-Oh, where Ayeka falls to her knees in horror, tears streaming down her face. The voice with her mind laughs, proud and pleased.)**

Scene 7 – Separation

**(A wave of ruby light passes over the surface of the black shell surrounding Earth. Beams of emerald power fly from Yagami's batteries, splashing into the onyx coating. Purple fluid flies from the long cuts left by these brilliant blades of energy. However, when the weapons fall silent, pulses of ruby flow back and mold the dark coating together once again.)**

**(Aboard, Kiyone narrows her eyes, considering the reaction. Around her, communication windows bearing the faces of Mitsuki and J regard her with their comments and questions.)**

**J:** Now, that's some shit there.

**Mitsuki:** Yeah, but why now? It didn't have this regenerative property at first.

**Kiyone:** Something changed. It healed itself only after Washu fired the cannon.

**(Mitsuki's eyes smolder.)**

**Mitsuki:** Any idea why?

**(Within her mind, Kiyone retraces the battle's events, from her order to open fire to the shrouding of Earth. In particular, the memory of the intense light smashing through layers of shadows fills her thoughts. However, the blast splashes against some hidden barrier within the structure. Then, as the brightness fades, the mass heals all its wounds. J shakes his head, remembering the same events.)**

**J:** What about Washu's big blast? It looked like it was going to rip through that damn thing.

**(The teal-haired detective nods.)**

**Kiyone:** It did, and something stopped it. I couldn't see through the blast.

**(With a few keystrokes, a window appears showing a still frame of the blast's impact on the distortion, layers of shadow shredded and tossed aside.)**

**J:** Neither could I.

**(Aboard the saucer, J glances over to K' who gazes distantly at the blackness. The elder agent rests a hand on his colleague's shoulder, catching the blonde man's attention. Worry hangs in the pilot's eyes, but the experienced operative just pats his shoulder.)**

**J:** Take it easy, slick.

**(K' shakes his head, taking a careful breath.)**

**K':** It's rather hard to "take it easy" with your planet covered in some impervious power.

**(Kiyone adds.)**

**Kiyone:** It's not that it's impervious. We are doing damage, but it's being reversed.

**J:** Kiyo, Yagami's sensors are better than the ones on this rust bucket. What do they say?

**(With a glance and some typing, a bar graph of energy types and intensities appears in a separate window before the GP officer. She sighs noting only one of any significant height: "NVO – 99%".)**

**Kiyone:** Only NVO type energy is being emitted. All others, including kinetic and thermal, are negligible by comparison.

**(Mitsuki's voice steams up from her lips.)**

**Mitsuki:** That's impossible.

**(The others turn to her as her eyes dance hatefully in her skull.)**

**Mitsuki:** If it was only NVO energy, we would be having an effect. We wouldn't still be here.

**(Kiyone sighs, answering this rejection.)**

**Kiyone:** Yes, that's obvious now. However, we aren't able to detect what else is interfering.

**(Next to the teal-tressed detective, her blonde partner lowers her blue eyes and adds her question.)**

**Mihoshi:** You think Washu can?

**(Concerned, she glances over to the others. Kiyone considers this, nodding slowly.)**

**Kiyone:** If anyone could, it would be her.

**(J scoffs and folds his arms.)**

**J:** Too bad we haven't gotten a signal through that barrier.

**(Mihoshi nods, adding.)**

**Mihoshi:** I hope Tenchi and Ryoko are alright...

**(Kiyone's eyes soften, recalling their perilous descent through the atmosphere, as well as the pursuit by Ken-Ohki and Funaho.)**

**Kiyone:** So do I, Mihoshi.

**(She then motions to her partner, inquiring.)**

**Kiyone:** Any luck reaching Ryu-Oh?

**(Mihoshi shakes her head.)**

**Mihoshi:** Not yet. I've been trying since the barrier went up.

**(Mitsuki's mechanical hand clacks closed as she shuts her eyes, frustration and anger controlled by her slow breath and sarcastic comments.)**

**Mitsuki:** Figures that our best weapon goes dead right when we need it.

**(Both Kiyone and Mihoshi turn to their friend coldly, spurring a guilty weight to hang in Mitsuki's chest. Yet, the red-haired GP liaison glances aside, silently accepting their distasteful response. J addresses the expert detective again.)**

**J:** So, what now, Kiyo? With Tenchi's grandpa on the other side of this and the princess's ship down, I guess that leaves you in charge.

**(Mihoshi, Mitsuki, and K' turn to the MiB agent as he continues, stating his reasoning.)**

**J:** You and Mihoshi are the resident officers in the system, your jurisdiction.

**(Mitsuki nods, concurring.)**

**Mitsuki:** He's right, detective first-class.

**(Kiyone glances around the faces, settling on the hopeful eyes of her partner. Quietly, the paragon of detectives acknowledges this with a nod. To Mihoshi, she issues her order.)**

**Kiyone:** Mihoshi, keep trying to reach MiB headquarters and Ryu-Oh.

**(Certain, the blonde affirms this and spins to the static-filled communication screens around her. The teal-tressed officer then addresses J.)**

**Kiyone:** J, I'll give your pilot something to do. Fly around this sphere and see if there are any noticeable weak points: indentations, deformations, whatever catches your eye or the sensors.

**J:** Got it.

**(He pats the shoulder of K', motioning ahead.)**

**J:** You heard the lady.

**(With a fortifying breath, the younger agent grips the control yoke before him and directs the ship away from the others, over the black shell beneath them. Kiyone now sets her attentions on Mitsuki.)**

**Kiyone:** As for us, we need to find out what's going on with this distortion.

**(With a quirk of her brow, Mitsuki questions her colleague.)**

**Mitsuki:** In case we never hear from Earth or Ryu-Oh?

**(coolly, Kiyone agrees, her blue eyes grave.)**

**Kiyone:** Exactly. Let's review that battle video again, starting with the moment the smaller "spawns" broke free.

**(While these two set to their analysis of the past battle, the tree-ship Ryu-Oh hangs a short distance away, her batteries silent. Aboard, Kamidake raises his staff before him, its crest shining brightly. However, the craft around him fails to respond, remaining quiet to his unspoken commands. Ryu-Oh's monitors show only an empty blackness, her lighting also dim around her bridge. He lowers the organic device, his brow furrowed in confusion with his comments.)**

**Kamidake:** She doesn't seem to respond to my key.

**(He glances aside to Ayeka, whose head hangs over her chest. Kneeling on the deck, the princess sobs openly as her hands rise to cover her face. The knight's gaze grows sympathetic as he speaks.)**

**Kamidake:** Princess Ayeka...

**(Her head shakes slowly in her hands while he approaches and takes a knee at her side.)**

**Kamidake:** I'm so sorry... about Lord Tenchi...

**(He reaches a rest his hand on her shoulder, but she slips away from his touch, her arms sliding down along her shoulders. He sighs heavily, his eyes closing with his hand.)**

**Kamidake:** We... all know you loved him... He was a good man...

**(Softly, she whispers back to him, her voice resonating with her heart's pain.)**

**Ayeka:** Don't... Please... don't speak of him in the past tense...

**(Within her mind, the second voice scoffs and replies.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** But, he _is_ dead... _isn't_ he...?

**(She shakes her head, denying this in her words.)**

**Ayeka:** No... he's not dead...

**(Kamidake takes a breath and opens his eyes, nodding as he lowers his arm at his side.)**

**Kamidake:** My apologies, princess. I did not think before I spoke.

**(He glances to her, continuing.)**

**Kamidake:** However, we are in combat, and our ship has fallen silent. She does not respond to my key or commands, and we must at the very least remove ourselves from the conflict.

**(Blinking the tears from her eyes, she nods, agreeing.)**

**Ayeka:** I know...

**(Her amethyst gaze then slides to him, adding weakly.)**

**Ayeka:** But... I can't sense Ryu-Oh either...

**(The knight lowers his eyes, accepting this. His thoughts drift back to when the vessel first fell silent. He remembers the crest of Ayeka's tiara shimmering brightly before fading with the silence of Ryu-Oh's weapons, followed by the princess's cries. Shortly afterward, he watched Tenchi and Ryoko plummet toward Earth and vanish as the planet was enshrouded, and the screens went blank.)**

**(Kamidake then stands, turning toward the central tree. Ayeka watches him as he advances to the great plant, questioning him.)**

**Ayeka:** What are you doing...?

**(Gently placing his hand on the bark of the tree, Kamidake answers.)**

**Kamidake:** Yielding to defeat is hardly the way of a Juraian knight, princess.

**(His eyes close, his words continuing.)**

**Kamidake:** I'll see if I can contact her directly. Maybe then, she will move for us.

**(Closing his eyes, the Juraian warrior glows a soft white as his power extends toward the tree. A similar aura appears around the tree, though more faint.)**

**(Meanwhile, beneath the barrier, sparks of crimson shoot down from the onyx shell, striking the planet's surface much like lightning. In major cities like Manhattan, these bloody bolts crack over the cityscape, amazed people staring up at the unprecedented phenomenon. Some sparks impact the buildings and streets, tearing into the structures. Other arcs strike the bay, flash-boiling liters of water instantly.)**

**(Within the Men in Black headquarters in Battery Park, Zed coolly watches the devastation depicted across the world. Several displays on the giant monitor show the leaders of the world meeting with their own teams of advisors about these "global disasters" caused by this "dark cloud". Behind the chief agent, MiB agents rush around the offices, some geared into silvery protective suits for clean-up missions.)**

**(Zed motions to the squid-like creatures seated at consoles before the monitor.)**

**Zed:** Boys, give me Yosho Jurai on Funaho.

**(After a few commands, the screen clears, replaced with an image of Yosho standing aboard Funaho. His features are set in his well-known stoicism, though his wine-colored eyes carry a somber aspect.)**

**Zed:** Good to see you again. What's the situation there?

**(The tree-ship shakes, a crimson light striking near the craft's hull.)**

**Yosho:** As you can see, our communication lines to Earth have been restored since the distortion's change.

**Zed:** We're only tracking Funaho, Caroki, and Ken-Ohki. What happened to the other five ships?

**Yosho:** When the distortion spread, Ryu-Oh, Yagami, Hayato, and the saucer were on the other side of the shell. Ryo-Ohki was injured in the battle and has boarded Ken-Ohki to recover.

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho stands proudly facing a display window with Zed's image. Behind him, Azaka listens quietly while the conversation continues.)**

**Zed:** What is the status of the three ships that are viable?

**Yosho:** Funaho's shields have returned to full strength so we are protected from these current effects. Ken-Ohki is also weathering well, though Pii's Pentinian fighter is not coping as well.

**(Zed nods.)**

**Zed:** I'm not overly surprised. We have Dr Hakubi and Ms Ro studying why the cannon failed to stop the distortion, as well as its new form and properties. Are your weapons still having an effect?

**Yosho:** They are, but the wounds we inflict regenerate shortly afterward.

**(Zed glances down, considering this.)**

**Zed:** Do you or Azaka have any recommendation for this situation?

**(Yosho answers coldly, his voice stern.)**

**Yosho:** Have everyone hurry. This is becoming too costly.

**(Confused, Zed blinks until he realizes the grandfather's meaning. The Terran man's image winks away and is promptly replaced by two screens, one connected to Nagi aboard Ken-Ohki and another to Pii seated in his fighter. Another snap of crimson shakes all three vessels, and while Nagi, Yosho, and Azaka stabilize themselves easily, Pii is rocked hard. He adjusts his flight controls and levels his craft as Yosho regards him.)**

**Yosho:** How are you holding out, Mr Pii?

**(The hunter scoffs and remarks.)**

**Pii:** I'll survive. What'd the MiB have to say?

**Yosho:** Washu and Ms Ro are studying the situation, but nothing new as yet.

**(Pii nods while the great man's gaze slides over to Nagi. Her red eyes burn heatedly beneath the shadow of her cowl, her sight settled aside with her thoughts. The grandfather addresses her gently.)**

**Yosho:** Nagi.

**(Her gaze turns toward him silently before Yosho speaks.)**

**Yosho:** If the creature wanted her dead...

**(The huntress interrupts him, her voice smoldering.)**

**Nagi:** ... I know.

**(He relents with a nod.)**

**Yosho:** Very well. Please survey the surface. There may be some weakness that we haven't noticed.

**Nagi:** Acknowledged.

**(Her image winks away while the great man glances to Pii.)**

**Yosho:** Stay with her.

**(Pii agrees soberly and knowingly.)**

**Pii:** I understand.

**(His image fades, leaving Funaho's primary display before the two Juraian men. Here, Ken-Ohki and Caroki turn away and dart away, coasting along the surface of the black shell surrounding Earth. The ruby sparks continue to arc away from the darkness, which the two crafts dodge and avoid.)**

**(Azaka steps forward, resting a hand on the prince's shoulder. A sigh exits the grandfather's lips while the azure knight speaks softly.)**

**Azaka:** ... He is a strong young man, your grandson...

**(Taking a slow breath, Yosho wipes his eyes and nods.)**

**Yosho:** ... He is...

**(He nods.)**

**Yosho:** We will see him again.

**(Quietly, Azaka concurs while another strike of ruby light smashes into the spherical barrier around Funaho. Stoically, the tree-ship remains unharmed while the planet below sustains more attacks from the invading darkness above.)**

**(Meanwhile, Washu and Nerti watch a playback of the cannon's shot on the distortion. When the blast rips through the layers of darkness and splashes against something inside, the recording pauses. Washu points at the splashing effect and comments.)**

**Washu:** Right there. That's our problem.

**(Nerti nods while the minute genius taps some keys. In the image, the powerful beam is removed, dissecting the image to reveal a hidden structure. Here, a white panel hangs amongst the ripped layers of distortion. Nerti narrows her grey eyes at the shield-like structure while Washu folds her arms, already considering the object.)**

**Nerti:** What is that?

**Washu:** I'm not sure.

**(With the press of a key, a separate window appears holding several listings for different energy types. Much like Kiyone's display, the only significant listing is "NVO – 99.2%". Washu's analytic gaze scowls while she purses her lips, entering more commands into her system. The screen then splits into layers which slide apart. Nerti blinks at all the different displays while Washu glances among them.)**

**Washu:** Looking at all the neighboring universes, there's significant bleed through the dimensional barriers.

**(She points to the different display layers, each numerically labeled. Specifically, she points to the ones marked "2718", "558", and "0", where the NVO intensities are "51.0%", "24.9%", and "99.2%", respectively. Other dimensions have lower intensities, but below ten percent of ambient.)**

**Washu:** However, it's odd that these two are spiking.

**Nerti:** Is there anything significant about these two?

**(With a scoff, Washu agrees.)**

**Washu:** In a sense.

**(The Ryoan taps both of the displays in question, causing them to rotate to display a portrait each. Nerti's eyes widen when she sees behind the 2718 window, her own profile. Also, behind the 558 window, Pii's profile is listed in detail. A chill rushes down her spine while Washu explains.)**

**Washu:** While the MiB were looking you two over, I've done some scans of my own. The quantum material that composes the matter in your body takes certain aspects from the dimension in which you reside: spin, color, charm, and so on. While much of your body is replaced over time by natural processes, your core changes little. Those particles retain the original aspects of the dimension in which you were born.

**(The genius faces her current assistant.)**

**Washu:** You, evidently, were born in Dimension 2718, and he in 558.

**(Her eyebrow quirks upward.)**

**Washu:** Odd.

**(Anxiously, the blonde glances aside to the displays, reading the vital data again. Yet, Washu shakes her head.)**

**Washu:** However, odd as it is, it doesn't explain this barrier. NVO energy, even in another universe, is antipodal to Jurai energy. If this was NVO type, the cannon should have been more than effective.

**(Nerti glances through the other dimensional displays, skimming over the other negligible readings.)**

**Nerti:** Then, what else could it be? There is nothing else.

**(The redhead shakes her head, commenting.)**

**Washu:** There's a reason. There's always a reason.

**(She types several commands, raising various screens listing material composition, spectral decomposition, and other scans while Nerti considers possibilities.)**

**Nerti:** If it blocks Jurai power, it could be a sinium-based shield, or some other alloy.

**(Washu denies this.)**

**Washu:** No, the heat and dimensional oscillation would melt or shatter it, if not phase it out of this 'verse.

**Nerti:** Then, it can't be a physical construct. A pure energy manifestation?

**(The genius agrees, continuing her analysis. As these two continue their study of the enemy, the building around them shakes with another crimson strike outside. On the roof of the headquarters, the red lightning bolts crack loudly, mixing with emergency sirens wailing in the nearby Manhattan cityscape.)**

**(However, one pair of eyes watches these bolts with a familiarity. Nobuyuki Masaki watches the dark power above, remembering a laugh echoing within the shadows. His son's voice rings in his ears.)**

**Tenchi:** I won't let you... _touch my mom_!!

**(Then, his late wife's words yell back.)**

**Achika:** This will _stop_!!

**(The widower lowers his eyes, these memories fighting through his mind as he whispers.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Achika...?

**(Another ruby bolt shatters the sky, drawing his attention once more to the ebony shell above, looking for a white, porcelain-like mask.)**

Scene 8 – Advent

**(Ryoko's amber eyes flutter open, her gaze distant and unfocused as she sighs heavily. Above her, Tenchi's relieved voice calls to her.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko... how're you feeling?

**(She rests a hand against her forehead as her eyes focus on his face grinning hopefully above her.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...?

**(As her sight clears more, she notices the sparking crimson around a translucent azure sphere encompassing the two of them. Beyond this, writhing darkness awaits the pair. Tenchi kneels at Ryoko's side in his blue combat attire, Tenchiken held firmly in his left hand. The crest of the hilt shines a bright violet, maintaining the barrier protecting them.)**

**(The former pirate pushes herself upright and pans her eyes over the shadow surrounding them. She blinks with some confusion.)**

**Ryoko:** Where are we?

**(Tenchi extends his hand to her as he replies.)**

**Tenchi:** You remember anything about the battle?

**(She takes his hand before he aids her onto her feet. Her thoughts drift back to the arrival of the distortion and the exchanges that followed. Ryoko nods, closing her eyes as she recalls the spawn boarding Ryo-Ohki and the ineffectiveness of her sword. Her right hand slides over her left shoulder, still feeling the scarlet cables around her. Tenchi sets his hand on her shoulder, speaking softly.)**

**Tenchi:** Are you alright?

**(She nods with her answer.)**

**Ryoko:** I think so.

**(Worried, Tenchi questions her further.)**

**Tenchi:** What did it do?

**(She glances down at her left hand, remembering the icy sensation of the red restraints.)**

**Ryoko:** I don't know.

**(A spark of scarlet arcs over her hand, spurring her brows to furrow. She tenses her hand and arm, forcing her will toward her hand, but the spark only gathers into a small orb roughly one centimeter in diameter. Tenchi watches this with a surprised blink to his eyes. The Ryoan woman closes her hand tightly around this, molding the light into a dagger-like blade, flickering and weak. She strains, but the power refuses to flow. Deep in her belly, a dread weight hangs while an icy chill races over her skin. Tenchi inquires.)**

**Tenchi:** What's wrong, Ryoko?

**Ryoko:** I don't know...! It's like...

**(His eyes slide to meet the fear in hers as he finishes her sentence.)**

**Tenchi:** ... it's been taken...

**(The fear melts to anger as she spins toward the blackness around them and throws her dying dagger into the barrier. The blade splashes against the Jurai energy, dissipating while Ryoko yells out to the shadow beyond.)**

**Ryoko:** What the _hell_?! It's not like I could _hurt_ you anyway!!

**(Tenchi places his hand on her shoulder again, and she tenses, her fury hardly quelled by her outburst. However, his soothing words float to her ears.)**

**Tenchi:** Calm down. It won't help to get mad about it.

**(Frustrated, Ryoko sighs and glances aside, acknowledging silently this fact. He takes a breath, considering the situation.)**

**Tenchi:** I suppose this means you can't teleport or phase us out of here.

**(She shakes her head, hugging her arms close. Anger boils inside her at her apparent weakness and helplessness, though Tenchi whispers softly to her.)**

**Tenchi:** It's not your fault, Ryoko. You didn't know this would happen.

**(Ryoko disagrees, her voice tense with her emotions.)**

**Ryoko:** No, it is. I _chose_ to stay. I _insisted_ on it.

**(Tenchi concurs.)**

**Tenchi:** And, Grandpa agreed with you.

**(Her fingers grip her arms tightly, her golden eyes glistening.)**

**Ryoko:** And, look where that got us, Tenchi.

**(He lowers his eyes before he steps in front of her and meets her gaze with his. The prince rests his hands on her shoulders as he responds.)**

**Tenchi:** You had to be there, just like I did.

**(Her sight slides away as a tear rolls down her cheek, her anger melting into a longing fear.)**

**Ryoko:** I had to do something... I couldn't just wait...

**Tenchi:** I know...

**(She closes her eyes with a slow breath.)**

**Ryoko:** My family caused this... It's my problem...

**(With a sigh, she shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** But... I can't even do anything to stop it...

**(Gently, Tenchi tips her chin back to face him as he shakes his head.)**

**Tenchi:** It's not just your problem, Ryoko.

**(Carefully, he wipes her tears away, explaining.)**

**Tenchi:** You always think you can take on everything yourself. Sometimes, you can't, no matter how headstrong, passionate, or powerful you are.

**(A somber expression crosses his face as he continues.)**

**Tenchi:** And, you often get hurt going alone...

**(She accepts this, her eyes closing.)**

**Ryoko:** ... I know.

**(His hand opens along her chin as he speaks again, his tone warmer.)**

**Tenchi:** ... I don't want you to hurt anymore...

**(Her amber gaze opens and joins his, surprised at the prince's words.)**

**Tenchi:** ... I can't watch you die again...

**(Her hand rests on his over her cheek, his name slipping from her lips. A tear rolls down his own cheek as he leans closer to her, nodding to affirm her silent wish.)**

**Tenchi:** ... I... love... you...

**(Their eyes close as their lips tenderly touch, entering into a kiss. Gradually, their arms snake around one another, holding one another close as another stream of tears falls from Ryoko's eyes. Slowly, the two break the kiss and exchange a close and warm embrace, their gazes joined deeply.)**

**(However, a motion catches their attention from the corners of their eyes. The two turn to see the darkness shifting, molding away from the barrier. Flattening, a path extends from the spherical boundary, the sides of this corridor shaping themselves to resemble a colonnaded hallway. Like elegant ebony, the light of Tenchi's Jurai sphere adds a shine to these pillars of darkness.)**

**(Both blink confusedly at this manifestation when they notice a figure in the distance walking along the path. As this person nears, her female frame becomes more apparent from the low-cut gown caressing her body. Primarily red and black, this dress blends well into the living shadows around her, seemingly to merge with them. Her sleeves extend down over her arms, ending in regal violet gloves with taloned fingers. A medallion rests upon her forehead, extending four feather-like streamers over her spiked, fallow hair. Behind her, her mane is tied in a pony-tail which fans at its end close to her ankles.)**

**(Her gait is careful and refined, not unlike that of a noblewoman. Yet, though her beauty is haunting, her face sends icy spikes down Ryoko's spine. Behind the leaf-like markings blossoming over her cheeks, neck, and bosom, the visage of Ryoshu Ryua gazes back with crimson eyes and blue corneas directly at Ryoko.)**

**(Unnerved, the former pirate shakes her head as the lady stops ahead of the Juraian barrier. Tenchi glances between the two women, noting a resemblance until Ryoko speaks.)**

**Ryoko:** ... You... you can't...

**(Her companion inquires.)**

**Tenchi:** Who is this?

**(The lady grins slyly, her eyes sliding from Ryoko to Tenchi. Her voice is gentle, that of Ryoshu Ryua, yet it echoes with a female chorus, the same heard by Ryoko and Nagi in the recent battle.)**

**Ryoshu-?:** Tell him, Ryoko.

**(Her mouth dry, Ryoko answers his question, her eyes confused and locked on this being before her.)**

**Ryoko:** ... She's... my mother...

**(Shocked, Tenchi's eyes widen as he turns toward the lady again. Ryoko, however, takes a breath and denies this bluntly.)**

**Ryoko:** No, you _can't_ be! Mom died _six years_ ago! I _saw_ the body! I was at the _funeral_!

**(She takes a step back from the lady before her, drawing what weakened power she still commands into a flickering dagger at her side. The regal woman narrows her eyes, commenting with her melodious voice.)**

**Ryoshu-?:** I am "mother" to you in more than just biology, child.

**(She extends her hand, an orb of swirling crimson and obsidian forming over her palm at her unspoken will. Tenchi watches this, remembering Azaka's words to him.)**

**Azaka:** During the great war between Ryua and Jurai, there were those Ryoan warriors who commanded a dark power. They said it was the power of their "Lady", their Dark Matron...

**(The young prince takes a defensive posture next to Ryoko, Tenchiken's blue blade appearing with a brilliant ionizing aura. His eyes settle on the lady before him, naming her as a cold rush shoots through him.)**

**Tenchi:** Tokimi.

**(The entity's grin remains while she glances toward Tenchi, nodding.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I see the old warriors still remember my name, though they say it in such... hushed tones.

**(Eying her steadily, Tenchi questions her.)**

**Tenchi:** What do you want? Why did you bring this distortion to Earth?

**(Bemused, Ryoshu-Tokimi closes her eyes while he continues, nearly demanding answers.)**

**Tenchi:** If you are the "Lady" that Liaens and Jezibel served, what do you want with Earth?! If you are the Matron of Ryua...?!

**(The shadows around the sphere suddenly grind tightly at its surface, sparking crimson and azure as they interrupt the young man. Tenchi and Ryoko both glance up and around at the buckling of the field encompassing them. Tenchiken's crest shines brighter as its owner raises it, breathing carefully to maintain his focus on its integrity. Ryoshu-Tokimi's grin fades when her eyes reopen, cold and narrow at him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** To put an end to your meddling, Juraian prince.

**(Ryoko slides before Tenchi, raising her weakened blade and cursing his corrupted version of her mother.)**

**Ryoko:** Stop it, you _bitch_!!

**(His eyes raise to her as he calls to her.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko!

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi coolly moves her attention to Ryoko, shaking her head slowly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** And you, child. You have brought this punishment upon yourself as well.

**(Her clawed glove rises and lightly touches the barrier protecting the pair. Filaments fly brightly as the dark woman pierces deftly into the Juraian shell, her fingertips slicing through the energy construct. Tenchi and Ryoko both gasp at the reaction while she tears the shield open.)**

**(With a wave of her hand, the same crimson cables appear from her gloves as did the spawn. A flick of her wrist sends them forward to snap around Ryoko's torso, arms, and legs. The former pirate screams out as her power is forcibly pumped from her body through these restraints. Tenchi cries out, raising his powerful blade at the lines.)**

**Tenchi:** _No_!!

**(However, before he can strike, another set of cables emerges from the shadows around Ryoshu-Tokimi and wrap around him much like Ryoko. In particular, these primarily restrain Tenchiken, burning and smoldering against the surface of the Juraian device. Tenchi struggles, reaching for Ryoko while he calls to her.)**

**Tenchi:** _Ryoko_!!

**(Gradually, the lines draw her toward Ryoshu-Tokimi, who watches the young woman distantly with a somber eye. Singed, the Juraian key snaps free from its bonds, allowing Tenchi to swing it and cut at his bonds. At this, Ryoshu-Tokimi glances toward him, a glare appearing in her peaceful beauty.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Enough of this, Juraian prince.

**(More restraints flail forward, binding Tenchi down again. However, when he starts to struggle, a wave of crimson power shoots through the restraints, scorching his battle uniform. He yells out in pain, clutching Tenchiken tightly while Ryoshu-Tokimi comments, an air of righteousness in her voice.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I had chosen to spare you, for her sake. I can reconsider that decision.

**(He strains, the cables tightening and burning through his clothes to his skin. He cries out again while tears roll down Ryoko's cheeks, her own strength waning.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...

**(Another pulse of dark energy through Tenchi's restraints shocks him, spasming his hand to release Tenchiken. The sword falls to the barrier below him as the blade and barrier begin to fade away. The darkness around them begin to corrode the spherical shell, allowing the key to drop into the plasma-like shadows.)**

**(The pulses of scarlet cease flowing from Ryoko as her head hangs, her breath haggard. Below her, a chair molds itself from the shadows before Ryoshu-Tokimi gently eases the former pirate from her bonds to sit in the seat. The lady glides effortlessly through the air toward Ryoko, halting at her side. A clawed glove rests kindly over the side of Ryoko's head, sliding along her cheek to cup her chin. Ryoko's golden eyes rise to meet the blue and red of the dark matron as the latter somberly speaks.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** My child... my daughter...

**(The young woman glares hatefully at the visage of her mother, spitting her words through her teeth.)**

**Ryoko:** ... I'm not _your_ daughter, _bitch_...!!

**(With a careful breath, the dark lady answers coldly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** ... You will be... in time...

**(Tenchi pulls at his restraints, calling to Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**Tenchi:** _Leave_... _her_... _alone_...!!

**(The crimson and azure eyes turn to him but blink with surprise as they see an emblem appear and shine brightly on his forehead. Three emerald kites become visible on his skin between his hair and his brow, taking Ryoshu-Tokimi aback.)**

**(Elsewhere, in the MiB infirmary, Sasami's rosy eyes open with her gasp. The two triangles emblazoned on her forehead glow brightly as she whispers, knowledge filling her mind.)**

**Sasami:** Tenchi...!

**(Similarly, in the hangar, Nerti pulls back from her work with a gasp, her eyes turning upward. Washu furrows her brows, glancing from her assistant to the monitors before her. None of them register any unusual power spikes, confusing the great genius.)**

**(With Tenchi, a wave of white shoots down his body, ripping apart the restraints around him as well as the tattered combat uniform. The Mark of Rage across his cheeks vanishes as the white gi and hakama of a Juraian warrior encases his form.)**

**(Beneath him, a violet bolt rockets upward before him. His brown eyes set themselves upon the sword key, scorched and stained by the darkness around them. Within his mind, Tenchi hears the medley of voices from aboard Funaho, the key's voice ask him "Ready?" Silently, he glares at Ryoshu-Tokimi and nods. The voices then clear to only one familiar tonality.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Then, awaken, Masaki Tenchi.

**(Before him, the crest of Tenchiken glows white as its vine wrappings unravel from its base, revealing a metal hilt with two leaf-like structures folded over it. The vines tightly weave themselves upward over the shimmering crest. A pulse of white light passes over the wrappings, coating them in a silvery layer of metal. Lastly, the two leaves open, forming a guard around the blade.)**

**(Tenchi takes this new white broadsword in his hands, his eyes still set squarely on Ryoshu-Tokimi. The dark lady furrows her brows at the brilliant weapon while Ryoko glances back, her own amazement filling her face. Again, Sasami's adult voice rings in Tenchi's mind.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Take your birthright, crown prince of Jurai.

**(Between him and Ryoshu-Tokimi, three lines form in the air, seeming to crack reality itself. Each opens into a shield-like structure, which the regal woman names under her breath.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** ... Wings of the Light Hawk...

**(As Tenchi draws his sword back, the three Light Hawk Wings drift behind him, waiting. He then rushes forward, his blade coming down toward Ryoshu-Tokimi. She steps back, a Light Hawk Wing of her own appearing. The white blade smashes against this ethereal shield, a shockwave resounding from the impact.)**

**(However, the dark lady's eyes widen when her Light Hawk Wing cracks under the sword, the damage spreading along its surface. She then looks up as Tenchi's three wings fly upward and shoot down toward her. Extending her hand, three more of her own wings appear to block his. When the pairs of wings collide, they smash into glass-like shards which quickly fade from existence.)**

**(When she glances back toward Tenchi, he slides away to Ryoko, wrapping an arm around her before the two look toward the enemy. In this moment, the darkness around them bursts open with purple ooze, the break following the arc of the white sword's swing. He swings again downward, slicing open the shadows before he and Ryoko dart down through the opening. A spherical barrier deflects the fluid from them as they descend away from their earlier prison.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi watches distantly, the blackness around her writhing in pain. She turns away, walking back along her corridor as it collapses behind her.)**

**(Outside, the NVO shell hemorrhages, a distinct rupture occurring in the skies over Manhattan. On both sides of the barrier, the ships turn toward this disturbance. Aboard Ryu-Oh, Ayeka's watery eyes gaze upon the damage as hope rises within her. Reluctantly, the voice within her denies this.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** No... this couldn't...

**(The princess rises to her feet while the crest of her tiara glows brightly. Around her, Ryu-Oh's systems activate, drawing a surprised glance from Kamidake.)**

**(The shell around Earth begins to collapse, leaving a hole where Ryu-Oh, Yagami, Hayato, and the saucer can see the blue planet below. All four vessels rush down, joining Funaho, Ken-Ohki, and Caroki in the atmosphere.)**

**(Once Ryu-Oh passes the clouds, Ayeka sees a white glimmer against the clear, blue sky. The image on her display zooms to see Tenchi floating down toward Earth, his white sword in one hand and his other arm around Ryoko. The princess smiles warmly, seeing the young man alive while her voice narrates.)**

**Ayeka:** "Then, I saw him, a _knight paladin_, shining and true. I could see his eyes, _courageous_ and _virtuous_. With a _white sword_, he protected me from the fires."

**(While the NVO shell burns and decays in the atmosphere, Ken-Ohki swoops toward Tenchi and Ryoko, teleporting the pair aboard. The armada descends toward Manhattan: Yagami, Hayato, Caroki, and the saucer down toward the pastoral facade of the MiB hangar; Ryu-Oh, Funaho, and Ken-Ohki toward the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority building in Battery Park.)**

**(The hangar opens, accepting all four vessels approaching it. Their crews exit, greeted with applause from their peers and colleagues in the complex. J and K' receive pats on their backs and handshakes while Nerti hurries to Pii, the two exchanging loving embraces and a kiss. Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Mitsuki likewise are inundated by greetings, but the teal-tressed detective and her blonde partner courteously slip away toward the exit.)**

**(On the street outside the Triborough building, Sasami steps out from the door, gazing up at the three organic crafts approaching. The trio halt overhead while white ash from the destroyed shell falls like snow against the dying rays of the setting sun. The crews of the three ships are teleported down, along with Tenchi and Ryoko. Ken-Ohki then darts away and vanishes, teleported within the building.)**

**(Kiyone and Mihoshi exit the doors and blink at Sasami's presence when the girl staggers. Mihoshi rushes to her, catching the Juraian princess and easing her to the steps below. The others turn to Tenchi and Ryoko, their own applause and amazement open for the young prince's transformation.)**

**(However, Tenchi raises a hand to his forehead. Ryoko spins to him concerned as he stumbles to one knee. She calls to him while to her horror, he collapses. He drops his mighty sword, the weapon reverting back to its original Tenchiken key. His grand garb fades, revealing his tattered clothes and lacerated body from Ryoshu-Tokimi's captivity.)**

**(Ryoko screams out, tears streaming from her face when Azaka and Kamidake rush to her, pulling her away from him. Kiyone yells back into the MiB headquarters, demanding assistance. Soon afterward, black-suited agents pour out, swarming the fallen Juraian prince and ascertaining his condition.)**

**(Tears stream down Ayeka's face as she slides to her knees, watching the man she loves being tended by these agents. Washu quickly rushes out, joining the gathering of agents while Nagi lowers her chin and closes her eyes respectfully. Ryoko sorrowfully screams for Tenchi as Azaka and Kamidake solemnly restrain her. Disheartened, Kiyone hangs her head, her gaze shut tightly. Yosho goes to Ryoko, consoling her even though tears are breaking through his own stoic facade. Somberly, Ayeka narrates.)**

**Ayeka:** The twelfth of September, 1998, the end of my life on Earth.

**(The crowd parts when Washu leads a troupe of men alongside a gurney. Upon this medical cot, Tenchi lies motionless. The dread in Ayeka's eyes consumes her as she buries her face in her hands, audibly weeping.)**

**Ayeka:** I couldn't stop it. I couldn't save him from what happened...

**(She collapses, her arms slowing the fall to the ground. Her distraught expression twists her beautiful face in torment while Washu and her cohort wheel Tenchi into the Triborough building.)**

**Ayeka:** Or myself from what was to come.

**(Within her mind, the mocking voice laughs at her sorrow as her eyes shift from amethyst to grey.)**


	6. Act 6

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 6Scene 1 – The Goddess's Lament

**(Dark clouds gather above the skyscrapers of Manhattan Island, thunder rolling from the lightning flashes. Beneath the angry sky, the downtown region of the city lies marked by demolished buildings, broken by several forceful skirmishes. Within the wreckage of one tower, the tree-ship Ryu-Oh has crashed, buried beneath the rubble. Similarly, debris surrounds the Grey saucer used by the MiB in a neighboring tower. Over this ruined cityscape, Sasami narrates, her voice as mature as her sister's.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Long ago, I made a promise to my sister.

**(At Times Square, a deep gouge leads to the stressed hull of the GP patrol-ship Yagami, her starboard engine torn apart. The GP craft Hayato rests on the beach of Manhattan Bay, her bow sheered off and in the polluted mud a kilometer away.)**

**Adult Sasami:** I swore that she and I would always be close, neither harm nor betray her. However, all people inevitably change.

**(Some kilometers away, the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority building in Battery Park stands blown open, the tree-ship Funaho grounded in the shattered concrete. The reddish-brown hull is cracked, blackened burns following straight rays along its panels. Parts of a robotic form lay strewn about the street, blue in color. On one of the forearms, "Rente Ro, Major" and "Caroki" are printed in white, block lettering.)**

**Adult Sasami:** She grew distant and silent, secretive and aloof. Her actions became confusing and inconsistent. In truth, I no longer knew her.

**(A crack of thunder snaps with a bolt of lightning over a pool of blood dried in the street. Near at hand, a white cap and black visor lay, but also fragments of metal are cast around, each molded much like a bird's feather. A gentle woman's hand reaches down and retrieves this cap, raising it to her sight. Dressed in elegantly embroidered robes of Jurai's most royal line, this lady's floral attire cascades with her figure, as do her twin tails of azure hair. Her rosy gaze softens at the item in her hand while she draws another from her kimono.)**

**(Composed of ashen wood, this circlet issues forth sharp thorns and blade-like protrusions. Encrusted at its center is a violet crest, sharp and unforgiving to complete this tiara of thorns. The woman holds this device gently, her eyes quietly considering its design and structure.)**

**Adult Sasami:** And now, I struggle to understand...

**(A crimson light glows in the distance as the regal lady turns to face it, her expression grim.)**

**Adult Sasami:** … so that I need not break my promise.

Scene 2 – Prodigal Daughters

**(Throughout the obsidian corridors of Ryoshu-Tokimi's dark distortion, Ryoko's voice screams, echoing through the construct. Tenchi cries out, his sword blazing at his side.)**

**Tenchi:** _No_!!

**(Held within the torn remains of his own energy barrier, Tenchi draws to strike at crimson cables draining Ryoko of her power. Yet, before he can strike, similar restraints emerge from the darkness and wrap around him and his sword, smoldering against the blue combat attire and the Juraian key in his hands. Struggling, he reaches for Ryoko a short distance beyond, calling to her.)**

**Tenchi:** _Ryoko_!!

**(Dressed in her red and black battle costume, the shadowy mark down her face gradually flickers and vanishes as the cables around her bring her closer to the figure of her mother. The violet claws of the supernatural being's gloves issue forth the lines of force, pulsing quantum after quantum of her Ryoan's energy into her. Elegantly attired, the elder Ryoan woman gazes back righteously, her peaceful beauty unbroken.)**

**(However, Tenchiken's blade snaps free and cuts his bonds, stirring a glare from the powerful entity.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Enough of this, Juraian prince.

**(More restraints bind Tenchi, bolts of power thrusting back at each of his struggles. The young man cries out painfully while the godlike opponent comments.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I had chosen to spare you, for her sake. I can reconsider that decision.

**(The cables tighten around him, burning through his clothes to his skin. He cries out again while tears roll down Ryoko's cheeks. Her hand closes tightly, one last bolt of red power sparking over her fist.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...

**(Ryoko's eyes open slowly, her tears soaking the bedsheet upon which her head lays. Gently, she pushes herself away from the soft sheets while her golden gaze scans around her environs. Within the MiB infirmary, this room comes equipped with a monitoring system, silent at the moment.)**

**(Sleepily, she wipes her eyes with her fingers, clearing a haze from her sight as well as her mind. She recalls her screams for Tenchi as Azaka and Kamidake held her, stopping her from rushing to the fallen prince's side in Manhattan's streets. However, a needle pierced the skin of her neck, causing her to fall moments later. L removed the syringe, a solemn look on her face.)**

**(Ryoko rubs her neck, remembering the dosing. With a frustrated sigh, the former pirate lays back on the bed, her feline eyes staring longingly at the ceiling. The image of Tenchi's fall blends with that of Ryoshu-Tokimi, her mother's form moving by some other force. She remembers the tight red cables around her body, painfully stealing away her strength.)**

**(The Ryoan woman raises her hand before her face. Gazing at her palm, she recalls the weakened arcs of power she summoned, her power diminished or removed. Her eyes close, her prayers on her breath.)**

**Ryoko:** Please be a dream...

**(Mentally, she focuses her will into her palm as she has done numerous times before with such practiced ease. However, opening her eyes, she finds that no crimson orb is in her hand. Distraught, she grips her fist tightly and slams it into the bed, a new set of tears rolling from her eyes. Her voice curses, her mixture of emotions eating inside her.)**

**Ryoko:** _Goddammit_!!

**(In her thoughts, she recalls three more words Tenchi spoke before the regal Ryoan's appearance.)**

**Tenchi:** … I... love... you...

**(Sobbing, she rolls on her side, shaking her head with the knowledge that her nightmare was true. The door to the room clicks, its lock opening, and partially slides aside behind her. Hearing the noises, Ryoko just calls back to the door, her emotional state obvious.)**

**Ryoko:** … Go away...

**(Yet, a familiar voice answers, Nagi's.)**

**Nagi:** He lives, Ryoko.

**(Surprised, the former pirate glances back at the entrant. In the doorway, Nagi Jurai stands in her violet and black combat suit, her cloak notably missing. At her side, she still carries her sword and whip, just as her face continues to bear the Juraian Mark of Rage on her left cheek. In her hair, the Juraian hairband key rests among her spiked locks of purple hair. The key itself has two crests, a Juraian crest on the right and an empty socket on the left.)**

**(The huntress's ruby eyes coolly gaze back at the golden look of her half-sister, the two sharing a mother. With a nod, she advances a step toward her sibling, explaining herself.)**

**Nagi:** His condition has been stable the past two hours.

**(Quickly, Ryoko sits up on the bed to face Nagi, concern in her voice.)**

**Ryoko:** How is he? Have you...?

**(Her purple spikes shake with her head, her attitude distant.)**

**Nagi:** I haven't seen him since he was carted into the ICU. The medics there have said that he sustained serious burns to his arms and torso, not unlike electrical burns.

**(The image of Tenchi held by Ryoshu-Tokimi's crimson bindings pangs through Ryoko's mind while Nagi continues.)**

**Nagi:** The shock and collapse were delayed by adrenaline, no doubt.

**(The cyan-maned woman lowers her gaze, considering the recent events again. Nagi watches her reaction to this news and considers her carefully.)**

**Nagi:** You were with him. You saw what happened to him.

**(Ryoko's hands slide up along her arms, crossing as she pushes the memories aside.)**

**Ryoko:** I don't...

**(With a quirk of her brow, the purple-haired woman questions her sibling.)**

**Nagi:** "Don't"?

**(The Ryoan shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** I didn't, sis.

**(The huntress pauses, considering this response while Ryoko glances aside, her thoughts drifting toward Tenchi. With a nod, Nagi relents.)**

**Nagi:** Very well.

**(She turns to the door again but takes a moment to look back to her half-sister.)**

**Nagi:** His will is strong. The medics said he should recover soon.

**(From behind her, she can hear Ryoko's voice answer softly, and thankfully.)**

**Ryoko:** … Thank you...

**(The door slides closed between them, leaving Nagi with an odd feeling from her sibling's last two words. Her hand rises along her opposite arm, not unlike Ryoko's own motion, while she steps through the corridor alone. Agents pass her in their trademark black suits, some with a white lab coat replacing the suit jacket, distinguishing them as medical personnel. Several eye the huntress, unfamiliar with her presence here.)**

**(However, Nagi ignores them, lost in her own thoughts: the spawned creature boarding Ken-Ohki, Ryoko's capture, her own race down through the atmosphere, and Ryoko's screams for her beloved. Her scarlet eyes close, a weight hanging within her chest. She remembers often challenging the former Ryoan pirate to duel, and more recently, standing alongside her with swords drawn at a common foe, Jezibel Kimitan. Both smirking, their kinship seemed far more apparent as they flew at their opponents.)**

**(With a sigh, Nagi pauses and opens her sight to the nurses' station ahead. Turning, she faces a door to her left with the keypad labeled "Jurai, Sasami". She looks through the room's window silently, watching the ten-year-old girl sleeping beneath the sheets of the cot within.)**

**(A softness enters the huntress's gaze upon the young princess. She distantly recalls herself at a similar age. Dressed in similar Juraian finery, Nagi once had her hair long, tied on both sides in the Juraian fashion. However, her Ryoan lineage manifested in spikes of hair near the ties, as well as the black mark that claws at her cheek. Alone, she too slept uneasily in an unfamiliar bed inside a Juraian orphanage.)**

**(Now a grown woman, she leans against the door frame, her gaze lowering as her feelings churn. Steps approach Nagi, drawing her cautious gaze toward the sound. However, a genteel and kind voice eases her conditioned reaction.)**

**Kamidake:** How is she?

**(At her side, the crimson knight Kamidake Juraiko stands, dressed in his white gi and hakama. Strapped across his back rests his red staff key, its headpiece still and silent. His scarlet locks frame his kind eyes while he considers the huntress. Nagi looks back toward Sasami, who stirs restlessly in her slumber. Softly, she answers.)**

**Nagi:** Exhausted, and restless. The medics here haven't determined why.

**(Thoughtfully, he glances down, considering an old memory. Yet, his response is simple and honest.)**

**Kamidake:** It has been a trying time for all of us. I doubt it was any less for her.

**(Nagi sighs, closing her eyes with a shake of her head.)**

**Nagi:** Agreed.

**(Her mind recalls then the arrival of the tree-ships Ryu-Oh and Funaho, Sasami materializing below them in the hangar. Absently, Nagi wonders.)**

**Nagi:** Might it have something to do with those two Juraian ships? Reports were both were wrecked and rooted here on Earth. They shouldn't have been able to move again.

**(Kamidake nods, his own worry aimed at the young princess.)**

**Kamidake:** That is true.

**(He turns to Nagi and adds.)**

**Kamidake:** Perhaps one could check the ships' logs.

**(She agrees somberly.)**

**Nagi:** Yes, though not now. I doubt her elder sister or the old prince are in much condition to investigate this.

**(The knight concurs quietly while she inquires.)**

**Nagi:** How is the other princess?

**(Both watch the sleeping princess as he answers sadly.)**

**Kamidake:** I visited her room briefly. She has not spoken nor eaten since Lord Tenchi fell. I doubt she has rested either.

**(Nagi nods, her eyes lowering.)**

**Nagi:** Not surprising.

**Kamidake:** It was no secret that she loved him.

**(Quietly, his calm eyes turn to hers.)**

**Kamidake:** What of your sister?

**(An mild irritation crosses her face as she retorts.)**

**Nagi:** _Half_-sister.

**(With a bow of his head, the knight apologizes.)**

**Kamidake:** My apologies, Lady Nagi...

**(She shakes her head with a sigh, replying to his original question.)**

**Nagi:** She's worried about Masaki, which is obvious. Most everyone here is.

**(Kamidake accepts this information, adding.)**

**Kamidake:** Certainly. The doctors checked her after she was sedated, and she seemed in fine health, though exhausted.

**(With a shake of her head, Nagi retorts.)**

**Nagi:** She always was a stubborn bitch.

**(Grinning wryly, Kamidake notes.)**

**Kamidake:** Not unlike her family.

**(A mild glare crosses her gaze before she sighs, releasing her irritation from the Juraian knight. He then meets her eyes and questions her.)**

**Kamidake:** What of you, Lady Nagi?

**(The huntress slides her attention back to Sasami, no answer for the knight. Concerned, he comments.)**

**Kamidake:** You seem tired.

**(He reaches toward her shoulder, but a smoldering glare from her feline eyes halts his approach. Her eyes close as she now answers him, the tiredness evident in her quiet words.)**

**Nagi:** I'm not the type that relaxes easily.

**(The knight lowers his hand to her shoulder with a slight grin.)**

**Kamidake:** I know.

**(Her eyes open, meeting his again as a moment passes between the two. A foreign feeling settles within her standing here alongside the legendary knight. Her lips part to speak, but no words flow from her breath, her thoughts empty as to the response.)**

**(A nurse's voice breaks the silence.)**

**Nurse:** Excuse me.

**(Both turn to face the young woman while she continues.)**

**Nurse:** Are you Nagi Jurai?

**(Nagi nods, affirming this. The nurse then motions toward the nurse's station.)**

**Nurse:** You have a call, from a "Tensho Jurai".

**(The huntress smirks and shakes her head.)**

**Nagi:** … Father.

**(Kamidake smiles, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder.)**

**Kamidake:** Seems news has reached the fleet.

**Nagi:** So it has.

**(Kamidake bows respectfully to her.)**

**Kamidake:** Then, I shall take my leave, Lady Nagi. I hope you have a pleasant conversation with your father.

**(She rolls her eyes, sighing at the gesture.)**

**Nagi:** I'm not some proper lady that needs that crap.

**(He grins as he rises, nodding.)**

**Kamidake:** I apologize. It is a habit.

**(While he leaves, she grins to herself, watching him leave before she directs herself to the nurse's station and her father's call.)**

Scene 3 – Open Questions

**(Time and again, scenes replay before Washu Hakubi: the Jurai cannon's shot on the distortion, the white hemorrhage and rupture of the shell around Earth, and Tenchi's collapse in Manhattan's streets. Her analytical green gaze narrows coldly as she rests her chin on her fingers, glancing to gages and graphs of data for each event. In each, "Jurai" and "NVO" are predominant, all others negligible by comparison. Her focused voice narrates.)**

**Washu:** Research is fueled by the unknown, and I certainly have several unknowns to consume my attention. Currently, I do know the following...

**(Her left hand dances on a keypad, and the original telemetry from the Juraian border station commanded by Soichiro Jurai appears. The flaming black orb flares violently as it bores a hole into the defensive frontier of the Jurai Empire.)**

**Washu:** At 0000 GST on the eighth of September, sector E-255 of the Jurai/GU border was breeched by an energy distortion. Composition analysis by SA satellites and my own sensors have shown the mass to be almost entirely of type NVO, the antipodal energy to Jurai's power.

**(She then glances back to the Jurai cannon's blast piercing through the distortion, only to splash radiantly off some deflecting element within.)**

**Washu:** While attacks with Jurai-based weapons were effective at first, something beneath the surface blocked serious damage from the modified dimensional cannon.

**(Her right hand enters a few commands, editing the image before her. The white energy of the Jurai cannon is removed, revealing a shield-like structure hidden by the brilliance of the weapon. Thoughtfully, the great scientist taps her finger lightly on the edge of her terminal.)**

**Washu:** Ignoring the Jurai energy in the system, one finds that there is a hidden structure within the distortion. Following the bombardment, the distortion enveloped Earth and gained regenerative properties. Ordinarily, as in the case of Kain, even sentient energy forms do not do this.

**(Another command changes the screen to a picture of the orb issuing flaming red power at Funaho and Ryu-Oh. This is then replaced by a still illustrating the origin of a smaller spawn creature.)**

**Washu:** Further, while attacked by an armada of Juraian, Pentinian, Grey, and GP ships equipped with Jurai-bases armaments, the mass retaliated, even creating smaller offensive units. Also, during its flight to Earth, it teleported into the solar system, skipping a large portion of its final travel time.

**(Her thumb traces down her jaw line as she considers the evidence before her.)**

**Washu:** It is obvious that this "distortion", as we've called it, was indeed sentient and composed primarily of NVO energy. However, I don't believe that was the whole story.

**(Reverting the screen to the image of the shield-like structure, Washu tacks with both hands on her console, her eyes showing the focused thought within her mind.)**

**Washu:** Unlike the SA and GP sensor arrays, my detectors didn't fail measuring the energy output of the distortion. NVO was the only known power emitted from the mass, which implies that this shield-like structure was something else, unknown to current methods of detection, even my own.

**(On the display, layers of the shattered shell are pulled away, each labeled much like those of a planetary body. However, the innermost layer, denoted "Core?", extends forward to the shield structure. The upper layers are all distinguished with densities of quantum energy, "type NVO", but the core is denoted "type ????".)**

**Washu:** Considering this mass originated on Ryua, my own homeworld, I am surprised at any piece of it being unknown to me. While I am not unfamiliar with NVO energy, it hasn't been a particular point of interest until Kain first appeared two years ago. Since then, interesting connections continually come to my attention, far too many to be coincidence.

**(Next to the data for the distortion, a still image of the usurper Kagato Jurai appears. This teal hair falls around his young face, his eyes a slate grey.)**

**Washu:** Shortly after my awakening in 1995, I became involved with the Masaki household and tied into the investigation of the coup d'etat of Jurai Kagato. Impersonating Jurai Yosho, Tenchi's grandfather, he assumed the throne of the Jurai Empire, promptly eliminating any other claimants. He wielded Jurai's power, augmented by what he termed the "Darkness of the Universe". Yosho later said that Kagato described this Darkness as a place of "pain worse than Death itself". This points to him coming into contact with NVO energy prior to his coup, as well as infusing his two knights, Tetta and Tessei.

**(A few taps displays an image of the porcelain mask of Kain, the dark shadow of his flaming flesh surrounding it.)**

**Washu:** Not long after Kagato's incident, Kain, a being composed of pure NVO energy, freed himself from confinement in the GP's subspace room at their headquarters. The resultant spatial anomaly destroyed the complex, and nearly all its occupants. Afterward, he sought out Masaki Achika, Yosho's daughter, for assassination while she was still a teenager. Traveling to the year 1970, he did succeed. As a result, the Masaki line ended with Yosho's late wife Itsuki, meaning Tenchi was never born into that alternate timeline. That incursion rewrote history, leading to the success of Kagato's coup.

**(An image of the gynoid Mecha-Nerti and the chimera Illirg opens in a display window near the data for the distortion. The mechanical woman's skin shines of the purest silver, her hair the finest gold. However, the mixed creature flares its mandibles, a giant mantis by its basic design.)**

**Washu:** A year after Kain's temporal incursion to 1970, the Terran agency "Men in Black" was targeted by the pair of Mecha-Nerti and Illirg. Illirg was a genetic combination of Ryua Ryoko, Jurai Kagato, Kain, and a representative of the Blattella gigantea race, known commonly as "bugs". It had access to Jurai, Ryoan, and NVO type energies by its construction. Likewise, Mecha-Nerti had access to NVO type energy via a central power cell in her central torso cavity.

**(Keystrokes then summon four more images, each representing a member of the group that sacked Jurai six months prior: Liaens, Jezibel Kimitan, Oniko Shi, and Seia. Liaens has notably metallic eyes with a cross-shaped pupil. Jezibel's jade eyes shimmer with an otherworldly light behind her flaring locks of red and orange. Oniko's hair spikes green around his golden, feline eyes, a Ryoan man. Seia's skin is pale, her eyes and hair both raven black.)**

**Washu:** Six months ago during Jurai's royal family reunion, Liaens, an enemy of the first Jurai king, reappeared and sacked the planet with a weapon derived from the NVO energy type, the "Aelins reactor". Under the telepathic influence of Jezibel Kimitan, Nerti Ro, a former SA student, developed not only this weapon, but also Illirg. According to the records of SA – Pentinon and the testimony of her peer Will Pii, she did design Mecha-Nerti, but not as the weapon that attacked Earth. The latter design was then mass-produced into an army that was to take the Jurai palace after the Aelins reactor disabled the royal family and its defenses.

**(She then glances to the dissected distortion.)**

**Washu:** And now, this great ball of fire...

**(The researcher points to the images of Kagato and Liaens, both highlighting in a ruby light.)**

**Washu:** These two were open, direct attacks at Jurai itself.

**(She points at Kain's still, highlighting it in green.)**

**Washu:** This... was retaliation. The mucking with time caused Kagato's success by eliminating Tenchi, the one who killed Kagato.

**(Her finger directs itself toward Mecha-Nerti, highlighting it in green also.)**

**Washu:** According to Ryoko, Pii, and Nerti, Liaens was behind the gynoid too. She and Illirg were field tested on Earth with orders to eliminate Zed, and if possible, Tenchi and Ryoko. If successful, Earth would be more open to attack, and Tenchi and Ryoko would be gone.

**(Lastly, she points to the distortion, also highlighting it in green.)**

**Washu:** And you... a direct attack on Earth, where all the interference has come from.

**(Washu nods, affirming the pattern.)**

**Washu:** Yosho was right. There is a bigger picture here.

**(Yet, she cocks her head to the side, wondering.)**

**Washu:** But, who's the puppet-master here? Mecha-Nerti said, "This world will have its punishment soon, after the Advent of my Lady." Similarly, Liaens and Jezibel reportedly mentioned a "Lady". Specifically, Tenchi heard him say, "Your people once knew and feared my Lady's name, but now, you don't even know it. Yet, you still do fear her power, this dark energy."

**(Closing her eyes, she taps her forehead, thinking further.)**

**Washu:** That leaves Kagato and Kain. Kagato was far too self-absorbed to acknowledge servitude to another. Kain did state that Achika was the one he was searching to destroy. No one had very long interaction with him to know if he was working alone.

**(She lowers her head, her eyes turning up toward the gallery of enemies before her. Coldly, the genius continues.)**

**Washu:** The simplest answer is usually the right one. Assume they are connected.

**(She glances to Kagato.)**

**Washu:** A minion sent to topple Jurai's political structure: failed.

**(The minute scientist looks to Kain.)**

**Washu:** A quick fix, another minion sent to unmake the one who stopped the first: failed.

**(Her gaze flows to Liaens.)**

**Washu:** New plan, remove all Jurai from play, but first...

**(Her eyes land on Mecha-Nerti.)**

**Washu:** Field test your weapons: partial success, one weapon viable and the other expendable.

**(Back to Liaens, she adds.)**

**Washu:** Even then, the plan fails.

**(To the distortion, she concludes.)**

**Washu:** Finally, directly remove the interfering party...

**(She sighs, the collection of windows around her winking away.)**

**Washu:** Partial success...

**(With a wave of her hand, Washu's system summons a still of Tenchi in his white gi and hakama, carrying the Juraian style broadsword. She scans over his appearance, noting the three emerald kites emblazoned on his forehead.)**

**Washu:** Tenchi was seriously wounded within the distortion when he dove to save Ryoko. She was sedated to stop her hysteria so I have yet to know what happened to the two of them inside that thing. By all medical accounts, she is in fine health, though exhausted. Beyond his wounds, no one sees any difference in Tenchi after this climactic transformation.

**(She points to the sword, highlighting it in red.)**

**Washu:** Even the Tenchiken key was changed, though it reverted to its original state after he fell.

**(A motion to her side brings forth an image of Achika Masaki, dressed in her celestial kimono and holding Tenchiken. However, this version of the sword has been extended, resembling a naginata more than a katana, or a broadsword.)**

**Washu:** This is not unlike with his mother. She also explosively released her Jurai power against Kain.

**(Wireframes replace the young woman and her weapon, as well as add a diagram of her opponent, Kain in a dragon-like form. Radiating from his shoulders are rays of white, which direct themselves into the large blade. The scientist observes the rays pooling into the lady's blade.)**

**Washu:** While I monitored the battle, I noted that she did infuse the key with her own energies, but also, the spin of the quanta within the field dynamic drained the offensive energy from Kain as well. Long story short, she funneled his last attack into the sword. She was wielding a sword tainted with NVO energy.

**(Standing, Washu steps away from her translucent consoles to a nearby table. Here, Kagato's sword lays with the staves of his two knights. Closed, the dark sword seems a grey and twisted imitation of Tenchiken. Likewise, the "briar" and "vine" staves mirror their "fire" and "water" counterparts. Thoughtfully, the researchers considers these.)**

**Washu:** This too isn't completely completely isolated. Through one way or another, Pii and Nerti came into possession of the "dark keys" wielded by Kagato and his knights. An analysis of them revealed them to be indeed infused with both Jurai and NVO energy. While the Jurai energy is in the predominating power, it is tainted, reenforcing the current interpretation of Kagato's story.

**(Tracing a finger along the sword's hilt, the guard opens readily while she comments.)**

**Washu:** I had Ryoko take this in hand, and it also opened willingly for her. From the arrangement of the branches and the ethereal constructs within each, these keys would accept Ryoan energy or pure NVO energy far more readily and be quite efficient.

**(She lifts her hand from the sword hilt and motions above them, summoning a display screen. Here, two waveforms are displayed, one red labeled "Ryoan" and one black labeled "NVO". In particular, though the curves weave about one another, they align almost identically. Raising both hands to the screen, it splits into multiple copies of the similar pairs of waves, intensities varying from layer to layer. However, the pair still continue their similarity.)**

**Washu:** When Mecha-Nerti held me captive on Earth in 1997, Ryo-Ohki and I touched her barrier. Unlike the others, the barrier merely blocked our movement. It did not openly violently deflect or openly attack. Since then, I've compared Ryoan and NVO energies, finding them nearly identical on every ethereal plane. Certain properties seem weakened or omitted in Ryoan energy, but other match exactly.

**(She narrows her eyes at the displays, her green gaze panning between the many panels of data.)**

**Washu:** This seems to imply an intimate connection between NVO energy and the Ryoan race. Historically, there were stories and legends of warriors during the Ryo-Jurai War of antiquity who wielded a dark power. Many of the details of these tales were lost to time and politics after Jurai won the war, though it's likely the legendary knights know more from their service in the war itself. It may be possible that ancient Ryoans of the imperial age controlled NVO type power, and that control was lost after the fall of the original empire.

**(The screens around her wink away while she remembers sneaking into the Ryoan Matronic Temple on Ryua with Ryoko.)**

**Washu:** Further, the ceremony that Ryua Shinya tried to perform on Ryoko only seems to affirm this conjecture. Ryoko said it herself, "we're connected to Kain too."

**(Spinning back to her consoles, Washu clacks commands which display full profiles and portraits of Pii and Nerti.)**

**Washu:** And then, there are these two. Both were students at the SA – Pentinon before Liaens's apparent interference, whereupon Nerti was controlled and forced to serve his purpose. According to Juraiko Azaka from the reunion incident, she had a relapse into the control of Jezibel Kimitan after her initial liberation. She also demonstrated a minor resistance with what he called "a golden eye" when she was retaken.

**(Panels emerge from both, listing measurements of NVO energy labeled "2718" for Nerti and "558" for Pii.)**

**Washu:** Before Jezibel was killed by Nagi, Nerti demonstrated a "dark sword" in her skirmish with Azaka, something he hadn't seen since the ancient war with Ryua. Further, during the battle with the distortion, there was significant bleed across the dimensional walls into the universes at distance 2718 and 558. Coincidentally, I scanned both Pii and Nerti, finding he originated from 558 and she from 2718.

**(Nerti's profile is cleared and replaced with a video clip of her wincing, her eyes glimmering emerald.)**

**Washu:** I monitored Nerti while she aided in construction of the Jurai cannon. Periodically, she would be overcome by an emerald power. Reportedly, this was peculiar to Jezibel's ability. There was an incident on Miranda, one of the moons of the planet Uranus. According to both of them, a Ryoan priest, Ryunoken Hotsuma, came and instigated a flare of this condition.

**(The video halts while Washu examines the blonde woman, another panel extending from the screen. Here, a bar chart shows intensities of various known forms of energy: Jurai, NVO, Ryoan, thermal, electrical, gravitational, among others. However, two bars labeled "???? 1" and "???? 2" are listed and spike above the others significantly.)**

**Washu:** According to reports of both Nagi and Azaka, when Jezibel was killed, a force was transferred to Nerti, possessing her. This is corroborated by Pii, stating that Hotsuma came to retrieve Jezibel's consciousness. That is when the golden resistance appeared again. There was a skirmish, and the removal was interrupted.

**(Cocking her head to the side, the scientist taps the two unknown energy types.)**

**Washu:** No doubt, one of these is the emerald and the other the gold. As Nerti originated in Dimension 2718, it is possible that these are native to that universe rather than this one. While I am still studying these two energy forms, what I have seen shows them to be antipodal, not unlike Jurai and NVO. It is conceivable that these are dimensional parallels to Jurai and NVO, manifesting mentally rather than in the electromagnetic spectrum.

**(Next to Nerti's image, two other portraits appear flanking her. In one, a man with identical grey eyes gazes back, respectful and cool in his appearance. His red hair frames his face, a couple spikes falling between his eyes. Not unlike Ryoko or Washu herself, this fellow has feline eyes and elfin ears. Below, the following data are displayed:**

Name: Rente Ro

Race: Pentinian

Sex: Male

Blood: A

Born: 29 May 1963

Died: 10 July 1995

**The other portrait is incomplete, having the facial details blurred and indeterminate. However, she does have particular key features: blonde hair, blue eyes, cross-like pupils, and a general female bone structure, much like Nerti's. Below, the following data are displayed:**

Name: Amelia Aelins?

Race: ???

Sex: Female

Blood: AB

Born: ???

Died: ???

**The researcher folds her arms, gazing at the information before her.)**

**Washu:** Worried about Nerti, Pii requested a DNA analysis on her. On Liaens's bridge, both he and Tenchi saw a portrait of a "Sophia Aelins", supposedly the "queen of Prora" and "heroine of the Kimitan War". As Nerti seems connected to the dark energy and Liaens, I... borrowed the data for my own studies. They have confirmed Pii's suspicion that Rente Ro, her adoptive father, is indeed her biological father. Reportedly, he had relations with a woman known as "Amelia Aelins" during the Pentinian Civil War.

**(Several other windows open around Rente's image, each marked with official rank and signatures of Pentinian military officials, dated 1979.)**

**Washu:** This is corroborated by documents from his fated mission to retake the city of Carica. He reported the aid of a blade-wielding, female mercenary named Amelia Aelins helped his squad in their mission. However, she disappeared. Further, his superiors denied hiring her. Viewing the documents of his superiors locked in the planetary database, they didn't hire her officially.

**(Before Amelia's profile, a double helix appears alongside another such structure with Liaens's portrait.)**

**Washu:** After the battle with Liaens, Tenchi and Ryoko had splotches of his blood on their clothes. Comparing the maternal strain from Nerti with Liaens's, there is a racial similarity, 98.4% likelihood. Her mother was from the same planet as Liaens.

**(The "???" on the maternal data is replaced with "Proran".)**

**Washu:** Ryoko heard that his race was called "Proran", evidently from a world named "Prora". The SA has no record of such a world in the Galactic Union. Since all dimensional data points toward 2718 displacement, that is probably the multiversal location of the planet.

**(Washu steps away and lowers her head in thought, listing her current questions.)**

**Washu:** Connections between the incidents... Ryoan and NVO energies... Juraian and NVO... Proran, Kimitan, and Aelins... the core of the distortion... Tenchi's wounds and transformation...

**(With a wave of her hand, the windows wink away, leaving her in shadows with the dark keys close at hand. Her green feline eyes dilate, sliding to the twisted branches.)**

**Washu:** I'll experiment with these keys to see their actual potential. Further analysis may reveal some more connections between Ryua and this dark power.

**(She takes Tetta's staff in hand, it headpiece glowing warmly at her touch.)**

**Washu:** The relation with these "Proran 2718" energies seems interesting. I'll probe that 'verse and see what I find. Maybe then, I'll answer the open questions on the distortion's core.

**(She closes her eyes, a somber expression on her face.)**

**Washu:** While those run, I'll check in on Tenchi. Maybe I can help accelerate his healing, and determine the cause of his wounds and transformation.

Scene 4 – A Moment of Peace

**(A dull white light diffuses from the edges of a floor in a guest suite within the MiB headquarters. From small lamps set into the molding, this light casts weak shadows from the pair of chairs and table near the door, as well as the solitary bed opposite them. At the foot of the structure, the custom armor of Will Pii is cast aside, its red color lost in the dim light. With these pieces of equipment, a white lab coat is also left to the floor, along with a lady's suit jacket.)**

**(Upon the mattress, two figures lay, one male and the other female. The young man, Will Pii, still wears the bodysuit that separates his skin from the metal armor. He rests on his side, his arm cast protectively around the lady with him, Nerti Ro. Still wearing the slack pants and buttoned shirt of the MiB, the blonde woman slumbers peacefully, her hands clasped around those of her bedmate. Her great tail of hair has since been untied, leaving the saffron mane to fan around her head on the pillow.)**

**(Slowly, Pii's eyes blink open, the pleasant scent of her hair filling his nostrils. He grins warmly, recognizing the outline of her hair and ear. Gently, he kisses the back of her head and caresses her fingers in his hand. With a soft moan, Nerti snuggles closer into his embrace, gripping his hand tighter.)**

**(Nostalgically, the hunter remembers the feeling in his chest. Three years ago, these two fell asleep on a couch together, Nerti using Pii's shoulder as her pillow. The sunlight coming inside from a nearby window coasted over his eyes, waking him. Then, he smiled at her serene face, haloed by her golden hair catching the sunlight.)**

**(In the present, her groggy voice speaks softly.)**

**Nerti:** Will...

**(Pii opens his fingers, letting her weave hers between his as he answers in a whisper to her ear.)**

**Pii:** I'm right here...

**(Her feline, grey eyes flutter open as she feels him next to her and his embrace around her. She smiles, turning her head slightly toward him. Her words also whisper back to him.)**

**Nerti:** Did you watch me all night...?

**(Wryly, he answers.)**

**Pii:** I tried... but then I fell asleep too...

**(Nerti smiles wider, closing her eyes as she enjoys their closeness.)**

**Nerti:** You never did listen when I tell you to rest...

**(He scoffs and kisses her ear.)**

**Pii:** I listen... I just worry...

**(She nods.)**

**Nerti:** Thank you...

**(The blonde holds his hands over her collar. She glances into the distance, affectionate words coming to mind and mingling with his recent aloofness. Unease tenses her muscles, bringing concern to her bedmate.)**

**Pii:** What's wrong...?

**(Nerti sighs, shaking her head, but Pii insists.)**

**Pii:** Please... tell me...

**(Her grey eyes close as she traces her fingertips along the lines of his hands. The waver of her voice reflects her conflicted mental state.)**

**Nerti:** I've... I've been myself for a while now, Will...

**(He nods, agreeing.)**

**Pii:** I know...

**(Carefully, she releases his hands and turns to face him, her feline pupils dilated in the dark room. One of her hands lightly pets down his cheek as a tear rolls down her face.)**

**Nerti:** I want you to know what I say is from _me_... not _her_...

**(The hunter takes a breath, glancing aside, avoiding her words.)**

**Pii:** You don't have to...

**(She interrupts him, her voice rising from a whisper.)**

**Nerti:** _I do_, Will.

**(He looks back to her as she blinks the tears away, settling her heart for her serious words.)**

**Nerti:** I love you, William Pii.

**(He closes his eyes, listening as she continues, emotion consuming her soft voice.)**

**Nerti:** I wanted to tell you before I was taken... before all _this_...

**(Her hand grips his shoulder as anger grows deep inside her.)**

**Nerti:** I...!

**(His touch wipes away her tears, bringing her eyes to his again. Saline of his own flows down his cheeks while he adds.)**

**Pii:** So did I...

**(The lady blinks her tears away in minute splashes as her counterpart gently traces his finger along her jawline. Caressing her cheek, he takes a breath and replies in kind to her.)**

**Pii:** I've loved you since the moment I saw you, Nerti Ro.

**(Softly, she sobs with a smile on her lips.)**

**Nerti:** Will...

**(Her arms snake around him, the hunter embracing her close as he rubs his hands along her back. Apologetically, he closes his eyes and whispers to her ears.)**

**Pii:** I'm sorry... I didn't mean to push you away...

**(Her sobs end, her eyes opening somberly with her understanding grin.)**

**Pii:** I just wanted to be sure... you were _you_...

**(Nerti eases back to face him and nods. His hand coasts softly along her cheek as she angles her head toward it. Her eyes close as he eases in to kiss her lips, the two exchanging a sweet touch. After a moment, their lips part, and the pair gazes into one another's eyes. With a light caress, Pii's fingers coast down Nerti's arm, soon locking with her hand. With a scoff, he shakes his head, commenting.)**

**Pii:** The girl next door...

**(Nerti giggles and rests her forehead against his.)**

**Nerti:** The lone wolf...

**(He grins.)**

**Pii:** What a pair...

**(Again, the two exchange a kiss when a tone rises from Pii's armor nearby. Nerti blinks and glances aside curiously.)**

**Nerti:** What's that?

**(The couple sits up while Pii reaches to his equipment and checks his left gauntlet. With a few keystrokes, a translucent window appears in the air before the pair, scrolling text with Nerti's image as well as that of Rente Ro. The blonde furrows her brows as she inquires.)**

**Nerti:** Will, what is it?

**(Pii skims the results, his face soon filling with joy as he turns back to her.)**

**Pii:** It's a message from the MiB labs. I was worried about you so I had them do a DNA workup on you.

**(She nods, wondering.)**

**Nerti:** And, what does it say, and why is...?

**(Her voice trails off as the realization fills her grey eyes. She turns back to the image of Rente, sharing the very same grey, feline eyes. Pii smiles warmly and acknowledges.)**

**Pii:** He's your biological father, Nerti.

**(She glances through the report, a shock still consuming her thoughts as Pii continues, his voice supportive.)**

**Pii:** I've always said you had his eyes...

**(A dark shadow falls over her eyes from her bangs as she ponders, her voice low.)**

**Nerti:** But... this means that... my mother...

**(Pii takes a slow breath and concurs.)**

**Pii:** The same woman he told us about, "Amelia Aelins".

**(She looks back at him, worry deep set within her eyes.)**

**Nerti:** The "Aelins" reactor... Liaens named it after my.... _her_ family...

**(The hunter nods while she continues.)**

**Nerti:** He _knew_, Will...

**Pii:** I think he knew a good bit about her.

**(He motions back to the screen as he enters another command. The image changes to the saved copy of the portrait of "Sophia Aelins" taken from Liaens's bridge. The painting captures her long mane of blonde hair, cross-shaped blue eyes, and certainly the two golden blades glowing along her forearms.)**

**(Within her thoughts, Nerti hears Liaens and Jezibel's voices whispering from her memory the phrases "Aelins" and "Child of Aelins". Pii adds.)**

**Pii:** This was on Liaens's bridge. This isn't "Amelia", but she's a _lot_ like the description your father gave.

**(Her hands slide up along her arms as she shivers, the picture of Sophia haunting her thoughts.)**

**Nerti:** What does this mean?

**(The Terran rests a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him.)**

**Pii:** That you're the daughter of my mentor, and the girl I love, just like before.

**(Though the worry does linger, a hopeful smile crosses her lips as she sets a hand over his on her shoulder. She affirms his words with a nod before he leans close again, touching her lips to hers.)**

Scene 5 – Reports

**(Surrounded by the glass walls of his office, the chief agent of the Men in Black sits in his chair scanning over pages of reports on his desk. Each leaf of paper details an aspect of the battle waged the previous day in orbit of Earth. Coolly, he nods to himself, reading the comments of the strange changes in the effectiveness of the pseudo-Jurai weaponry as well as the distortion's retaliation.)**

**(Below on the ground floor, his black-suited agents continue about their daily routines, tracking leads or falsifying documents. However, on the catwalk approaching his office, the white gi and hakama of a Juraian knight distinguishes the legendary Azaka Juraiko from the Terran agents passing him. With his blue staff strapped across his back, the nobleman pauses at Zed's door, waiting silently for the Terran man's attention.)**

**(Without raising his eyes from the page, Zed motions to Azaka to enter.)**

**Zed:** Come on in, Sir Azaka.

**(With a slight bow, the honorable warrior enters and steps to the chief's desk. The Terran cracks his neck and takes a breath as he sits up from his papers and settles his attention on the Juraian. The knight listens quietly as the agent speaks.)**

**Zed:** You can have a seat if you like.

**(Zed motions to a chair before his desk, but Azaka shakes his head with a respectful reply.)**

**Azaka:** Thank you, but I would rather stand.

**(Zed shrugs nonchalantly.)**

**Zed:** Okay. I hope you had a good rest.

**(Relaxing his shoulders, Azaka clasps his hands behind his back, his full attention on the man behind the desk.)**

**Azaka:** As well as can be expected under the circumstances.

**(The agent nods, glancing aside.)**

**Zed:** I see. My condolences.

**(The knight slightly bows his head.)**

**Azaka:** Thank you.

**(Yet, the Terran man shuffles the papers before him into a file folder, commenting.)**

**Zed:** Still, the cogs keep turning. I've already submitted a report of the encounter to both the Galaxy Police and Jurai.

**(Calmly, Zed sets the file aside and adds.)**

**Zed:** However, Jurai still requests a debriefing. Considering everyone else's preoccupation, I hope you don't mind.

**Azaka:** Not at all.

**(The chief agent grins to himself.)**

**Zed:** I had also requested that your partner join us for this.

**(The knight grins distantly, recalling the Kamidake's bowed head as the younger man asked to check on Nagi, both before and after the battle.)**

**Azaka:** He is where he is needed, sir.

**(Knowingly, he exchanges a glance with Zed.)**

**Azaka:** He is a young man, after all.

**(The Terran chuckles to himself, nodding.)**

**Zed:** Very true. Your protégé?

**(With a shake of his head, Azaka corrects him.)**

**Azaka:** Not for some time now.

**(The seated agent scoffs when a tone rises from a touch panel on his desk. Grimacing, Zed sighs.)**

**Zed:** I suppose this conversation will have to wait.

**Azaka:** Indeed.

**(The MiB chief enters commands into the panel, and the screens behind him replace their usual view of black-suited agents across the globe to an image of the current emperor of Jurai. The violet locks and beard of Azusa II flow down around his head, a regal mane for the ruler of a great empire.)**

**(While he sits upon his throne wrapped in the highest Juraian regalia, a woman stands at his side, her chartreuse hair tied in a long ponytail behind her. Seto Kamiki, chairwoman of the Holy Council of Jurai, holds a closed fan at her side, her scarlet eyes watching coolly both Azaka and Zed.)**

**(Azaka bows respectfully to his emperor while Zed bows his head, acknowledging the other leader. Azusa II returns this gesture and speaks clearly and firmly.)**

**Azusa II:** Rise. "Zed", I believe?

**(Azaka and Zed rise as bidden while the Terran answers.)**

**Zed:** That is correct, Emperor Azusa.

**(His gaze then turns to Azaka, where the emperor's eyes become cold, as does his voice.)**

**Azusa II:** Juraiko Azaka, I had wondered to where you and Kamidake had gone.

**(The knight bows, apologizing.)**

**Azaka:** My apologies, my emperor. We thought it best to help the princess in her stratagem. I take full responsibility for our decision.

**(Seto mildly glares at the knight while the emperor shakes his head.)**

**Azusa II:** It is of no consequence now. Your reports state that the distortion has indeed been defeated. Is this correct?

**(Azaka rises and acknowledges this fact.)**

**Azaka:** That it has, my emperor, through the courage and sacrifice of all assembled.

**(The ruler closes his eyes thoughtfully.)**

**Azusa II:** So the report states. Has it been completely destroyed?

**Azaka:** Yes, the mass was torn apart by Lord Tenchi's apparent transformation.

**Zed:** Satellite scans of the planet have found no lingering trace of NVO type energy since the battle concluded.

**(Azusa II strokes his beard while Seto glances to the Terran official.)**

**Azusa II:** Speaking of Masaki Tenchi, the report stated that he was injured. Has there been any explanation for his wounds or new abilities?

**(Azaka shakes his head.)**

**Azaka:** Not as yet. The Terrans here have their scientists studying the data, and I am sure that Dr Hakubi is also. Unfortunately, Lord Tenchi himself is still unconscious after his ordeal.

**(The emperor's eyes fall on his azure warrior.)**

**Azusa II:** What of the Ryoan woman with him?

**(Azaka lowers his eyes.)**

**Azaka:** Ms Ryoko was hysterical with grief at the sight of his fall. Kamidake and I had to restrain her.

**(Soberly, Zed echoes this.)**

**Zed:** And, I had to send out one of my medical staff to sedate her.

**(The Juraian leader turns his attention to the Terran.)**

**Azusa II:** So, you have not debriefed her on the events?

**Zed:** Not yet. She should be coming around soon, I expect.

**Azusa II:** We should know what happened.

**Zed:** Agreed.

**(The lady then interjects her words.)**

**Seto:** The report also had mention of the world Ryua.

**(Regarding her, Zed answers.)**

**Zed:** Yes, Dr Hakubi traced the distortion's flight path back to Ryua. She and Ryoko led a team there to investigate any possible connection that might be able to stop it.

**(Seto's eyes narrow, commenting.)**

**Seto:** Then, you may wish to know that there is currently planetary outrage on Ryua for Earth.

**(Zed furrows his brows, as does Azaka, while the councilwoman continues.)**

**Seto:** They have recordings of your agent, along with a GP officer, aiding Ryua Ryoko in breaking-and-entering at their Matronic Temple.

**(The Terran retorts.)**

**Zed:** What about the NVO readings by Dr Hakubi within the temple, as well as the supposed ritual with Ryoko?

**(Seto raises a brow.)**

**Seto:** Your defense rests on a woman who has been _twice_ exiled from the Galactic Union and a renowned space pirate that _you yourself_ helped acquit?

**(Zed glares back at Seto while she adds.)**

**Seto:** Did they find any actual equipment or signs that this distortion could have originated from that location?

**(Zed shakes his head, bringing a glint to the Juraian woman's eye.)**

**Seto:** Then, I believe you have some matters to consider, my Terran friend.

**Zed:** The investigation is on-going, with the GP's assistance.

**(She disagrees.)**

**Seto:** No, Ryua is a _Juraian_ world. _We_ will handle it. Thank you.

**(Zed grins and shrugs.)**

**Zed:** Alright. Saves me the trouble.

**(Azaka stifles a glare at Seto before he turns his attention to the emperor.)**

**Azaka:** Still, this does shed a foul light on the world of crystals, my emperor. The trajectory of the enemy alone does this, regardless of the actions taken afterward.

**(Azusa II nods, accepting this.)**

**Azusa II:** Very well. I will have an investigation underway shortly.

**(The Juraian lady's eyes slide to the knight as she inquires, her voice coldly interested.)**

**Seto:** How is the Princess Ayeka? The report stated that she also collapsed at Masaki Tenchi's fall.

**(Azaka's eyes close solemnly with his answer.)**

**Azaka:** She was affected much like Ms Ryoko. They both had strong affection for him.

**Seto:** So much so that her key failed to sync with her?

**(The knight glances at the ground, considering this while Seto elaborates.)**

**Seto:** It was in the report that Ryu-Oh, her own personal ship, fell silent in the battle. Further, both Ryu-Oh and Funaho were reported "inoperable" years ago. How...?

**(A beeping tone from Zed's desk interrupts the stateswoman. The Terran agent glances down to the icon flashing on the touch pad. With a press, one of the monitors behind him flashes to a white screen trimmed in blue. Black text scrolls while Seto glares at the man. Azusa II touches a couple fingers to his head, an ache in his head rising. Irritated, he addresses Zed.)**

**Azusa II:** Can this interruption not wait?

**(Azaka furrows his brows, noting Seto's glare and the change in the emperor's mood. However, Zed purses his lips curiously.)**

**Zed:** Actually, you might be interested in this. We've had a report of a strange person roaming the streets of Manhattan. Description: angular tan hair, fanning to her ankles; blue feline eyes; elfin ears...

**(He glances back to the two Juraians on the screen nearby with some ironic glee.)**

**Zed:** Ryoshu Ryua.

Scene 6 – First Blood

**(The sun sets behind the cityscape of Manhattan as a jet-black van rolls down the streets of Manhattan. The MiB agent J sarcastically questions the five people with him.)**

**J:** So, exactly why're _we_ having to do this?

**(Seated in the van's passenger seat, his partner L glances back into the rear cavity and answers.)**

**L:** Because we're the only ones with a lot of experience in dealing with Ryoans?

**(At her side, K' steers the vehicle, weaving in and out of traffic as they race down the roads. Keeping his eyes on the road, he raises a brow and inquires.)**

**K':** Actually, I'm with him. Didn't someone say that Ryoshu Ryua was dead?

**(L nods, commenting.)**

**L:** That's what the records say from the Jurai Empire.

**(From a molded crevice on her door, the lady agent draws a data tablet. With a touch, the device shines to life and quickly displays a portrait of their target: feline blue eyes; tan, spiked hair; fair complexion; elfin ears. Nearby, the following vital information is listed for her.**

Name: Ryoshu Ryua

Race: Ryoan

Sex: Female

Blood: AB

Height: 161 cm

Mass: 74.9 kg

Born: 31 May 1959

Married: 20 August 1976, Akuno Ten (deceased)

Died: 17 August 1992

Survivors:

Murakami Ryua, father

Shinya Ryua, brother

Takaya Ryua, brother

Ryoko Ryua, daughter

Nagi Jurai, daughter

**A short dossier scrolls in a window below the data above, detailing the facts known about her history. L scans this commenting as she reads.)**

**L:** She was declared dead six years ago by the attending at Kira General Hospital on Ryua after fighting an undiagnosed condition for two months. She suffered from some form of cellular degeneration throughout her body. Even after an autopsy, no cause could ever be attributed to the condition, nor have any other such cases been reported. She was interred 20 August 1992 in the Matronic Cemetary on Ryua.

**(In the rear of the van on each side wall, two benches are built, complete with belts and harnesses for the four occupants seated upon them. Bracketed to the walls and ceiling are several weapons, primarily of extraterrestrial origin by their silver finish and arcane designs. Here, J sits with the GP/MiB liaison Mitsuki Matsu, across from the detectives first-class Kiyone Makibi and Mihoshi Kuramitsu. Oddly, all three GP officers are dressed in black suits, much in line with L. Mihoshi also wears her hair down, covering the pointedness of her ears. Further, Mitsuki has a pair of black gloves, concealing the prosthetic left arm.)**

**(While Kiyone quietly ponders the information, J waves his hand aside, expressing his own confusion.)**

**J:** Well, the woman can't be her if she's buried on Ryua.

**(Mitsuki shakes her head, folding her arms.)**

**Mitsuki:** Maybe. You were on Ryua. You really think it's impossible for someone to "vanish", provided they know the _right_ people?

**(J glances over to Mitsuki, listening to her exposition.)**

**Mitsuki:** It's a planet of thieves, run by corrupt politicians and officers. With the right money and the right people, you could get whatever you wanted.

**(Kiyone then turns her attention to her friend and colleague.)**

**Kiyone:** Accepting that's true, why come to Earth, particularly given the recent danger with the distortion?

**(L taps the names of Ryoko and Nagi on Ryoshu's dossier.)**

**L:** She is mother to both Ryoko and Nagi. It also says here that she didn't have a good relationship with her father or her brothers, especially after her marriage.

**J:** They not like the guy?

**(His partner scoffs and nods.)**

**L:** Yeah, you could say that. Her husband was Akuno Ten, dread pirate of the Ryoan system.

**(Mitsuki agrees, adding.)**

**Mitsuki:** Ryua is a very fractured society. None of them really like the Juraian government ruling them, but some do feign loyalty to the Juraian crown. Most rush off into the pirate guilds, young people especially. Others seek shelter in the Matronic Temple and their faith. It's never known to be stable. All three sects despise the others. Akuno himself was the head of the Ten Guild for only a year before he was killed, but he was very good at what he did.

**(J raises a brow.)**

**J:** How'd he go?

**Mitsuki:** A Galaxy Police raid on one of the Ten Guild's weapon caches in 1979. He died in the firefight.

**(Mihoshi blinks at the redhead, commenting.)**

**Mihoshi:** Wow, how'd you know all that?

**(Mitsuki grins proudly.)**

**Mitsuki:** You think I don't read up on my assignments? I skimmed a lot of the records while we were heading to Ryua.

**(Kiyone rests her chin in her hand while she parses this information.)**

**Kiyone:** Still, something doesn't add up. Where was she first noticed?

**(K' answers after swooping the van around a tractor-trailer.)**

**K':** Frank the Pug reported her wandering around downtown. He said it was weird to see a Ryoan woman strutting around the city in the open. Even when Princess Ayeka and Dr Hakubi were here in 1997, they disguised themselves a little bit to blend in.

**(She glances back at the young agent.)**

**Kiyone:** Did he mention her behavior? Was she agitated, lost, confused?

**(K' shakes his head, answering with an air of surprise.)**

**K':** Not at all. He said she seemed...

**(While the van rolls down the street, people mingle in crowds, most oblivious to the other faceless masses. However, not far away, a singular woman walks amongst them, many turning to gaze at her unearthly beauty. Ryoshu Ryua steps slowly, a distant gaze falling upon each of her passers-by. Dressed in a crimson evening gown, the Ryoan lady clasps her hands behind her back, her forearms sheathed in matching elbow-length gloves. Her face and chest are free of the green marks that crossed them in the encounter with Tenchi and Ryoko, and her eyes also show their natural blue iris and white cornea. The voice of K' narrates.)**

**K':** … curious. She was just watching everyone gawk at her as she walked by.

**(In a nearby booth, Frank the Pug sits watching the woman pass, his eyes set coldly on her. Back in the van, Mihoshi scratches her head, pondering this.)**

**Mihoshi:** That's strange. If she's in hiding, why walk around in the open?

**(Kiyone nods, agreeing.)**

**Kiyone:** It's true that she probably wouldn't go directly to MiB headquarters like most travelers.

**(She turns to J.)**

**Kiyone:** I'm sure you have informants other than Frank the Pug. Could she have approached any of them?

**(He shakes his head.)**

**J:** Not that I've heard. I usually get a page if something's up.

**Mihoshi:** What do you think, Kiyone?

**(Kiyone weaves her fingers together as she explains.)**

**Kiyone:** She's trying to be public. She _wants_ to be seen. If she was in hiding and trying to contact her daughters, she would not only avoid being seen, but also find alternate means to find Ryoko and Nagi.

**(K' furrows his brows.)**

**K':** Doesn't make the cleanup of this mess any easier either.

**(J curls his lip and shakes his head.)**

**J:** The conspiracy bullshit can wait, kid.

**(K' starts to retort when L interrupts him with her own question.)**

**L:** _Still_, if she's not here after Ryoko and Nagi, why is she here?

**(Mitsuki closes her eyes gravely.)**

**Mitsuki:** She could be working for Shinya. After all, he was trying to twist or control Ryoko's mind on Ryua. He could have done the same to her.

**(The van slows while K' settles the vehicle into a parking place in an alley a few meters from Frank's locksmith booth. The group free themselves from the safety harnesses, J turning his attention to the weapons around him. The agent takes down a deatomizer series handgun from the rack, a "K" engraved in the grip. Grinning at the weapon, he checks the power cell charge and stows it in the holster beneath his jacket.)**

**J:** Well, we can ask her ourselves shortly, won't we?

**(Kiyone and Mihoshi both rack new power cells into their GP issue pistols before likewise holstering them. However, Kiyone shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** We're not looking for a fight with her if we can avoid it. She is Ryoan, which means if she's off the sinium solution, she's very dangerous.

**(Mihoshi glances to her partner, her eyes worried.)**

**Mihoshi:** Is that why they sent six of us?

**(The teal-haired woman shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** No, not entirely.

**(The doors open as the four passengers exit the rear. L and K' join them, each taking a weapon: L a standard MiB sidearm and K' a noisy cricket. As with the others, each checks their ammunition, though J watches K' carefully with the volatile cricket. K' glares back at him after loading his charge.)**

**K':** I paid _attention_ in the training, J.

**(J sighs and shakes his head while Kiyone continues.)**

**Kiyone:** You and I are well-versed in handling Ryoans, Mihoshi, as is Mitsuki with her training in special investigations.

**(She nods to J and L.)**

**Kiyone:** These two also have had similar experience when we dealt with Mecha-Nerti a year ago. They also know the city, where she might go or hide if things get out of hand.

**(K' raises a brow.)**

**K':** And me?

**(J scoffs and heads toward the main street.)**

**J:** You can _drive_, junior.

**(Kiyone, Mihoshi, and L grin wryly, sweat beading on their brows while K' storms after J, furious with the comment. Mitsuki sighs and folds her arms, her finger tapping on her forearm.)**

**Mitsuki:** … Bad enough I have to wear this ridiculous uniform.

**(L steps to her side, explaining.)**

**L:** It's just to help you blend in. A Galaxy Police uniform would starkly standout in Manhattan, after all.

**(Rolling her eyes, Mitsuki follows after J and K'. Mihoshi smiles appreciatively for L.)**

**Mihoshi:** Thanks.

**(L grins back.)**

**L:** You're welcome.

**(Kiyone nods her approval before she raises her wrist, exposing the GP-issue wristband from beneath her sleeve. The other two women gather around her as the spherical device on the band displays a holographic miniature of the immediate vicinity. Marked by white dots in this violet projection are all six of the van's former occupants. On the nearby street, gray dots represent the pedestrians making their respective commutes.)**

**(However, a singular red dot appears on the next street, the gray dots around it seeming to flow around it like a brook around a stone. L motions to the point.)**

**L:** I'm guessing that's her?

**(Kiyone nods while the doctor shakes her head.)**

**L:** She certainly is getting noticed.

**(Glancing back to the teal-tressed detective, L inquires.)**

**L:** Any ideas on getting her alone and off the street?

**(Thinking, the GP officer responds.)**

**Kiyone:** I doubt "alone" will be a problem. However, if you approach her with the usual MiB tactics, I'm worried about her retaliating. With the group gawking at her, that's not going to end well.

**(Meanwhile, Mihoshi blinks, watching the other members of their group quip at one another a distance away. With a wave of her hand, the diagram of the street is changed to a projected miniature of Ryoshu walking, her eyes scanning about her environment. L is taken aback by the evening dress, commenting.)**

**L:** _That_ is _not_ something you wear walking down _these_ mangy streets.

**(Kiyone narrows her eyes at the image, watching the projection's head.)**

**Kiyone:** She's not really looking at anything... It's like...

**(Then, the image turns to face Kiyone, its eyes meeting hers. A slight grin crosses the hologram's lips, shocking the detective. However, once she blinks her amazement away, so too leaves the grin on the Ryoan woman's lips. Once again scanning, the Ryoshu image continues as she had before. The paragon motions toward the hologram.)**

**Kiyone:** L, did you see that?

**(Confused, L shakes her head.)**

**L:** No, what?

**Kiyone:** It...

**(Her brows furrow.)**

**Kiyone:** … looked at me...

**(With a shake of her head, L disagrees.)**

**L:** No, it's just been doing the same thing it always, not skipping a beat. She's like clockwork.

**(Scoffing, she adds.)**

**L:** I wish the subway was that good.

**(Kiyone shakes the image away, settling her thoughts on her immediate problem.)**

**Kiyone:** Never mind.

**(Passing her fingers over the hologram, it reverts to the diagram of the vicinity, and Madison Park catches her eye. With the dying sunlight, the people indicated in the area have become sparse. Kiyone motions L toward this area.)**

**Kiyone:** What about here? It's spacious, and the people are thinning out.

**L:** True, a lot of people don't go into some of the parks at night. It's an easy way to get mugged.

**(Cocking her head, the GP officer grins wryly.)**

**Kiyone:** In an odd way, that's what's about to happen. Now, how do we steer her into that park?

**(Mihoshi's blue eyes blink as she answers the question.)**

**Mihoshi:** She's Ryoko's mom.

**(Kiyone and L regard the blonde detective as she continues.)**

**Mihoshi:** Why don't we tell her we can take her Ryoko?

**(L grins to herself.)**

**L:** Direct and simple.

**(Kiyone smiles with a nod.)**

**Kiyone:** I like it. If anything, it might at least start a conversation with her so we can find out what she's actually after.

**(The teal-tressed officer pats her partner on her shoulder as the three rush to join their companions, quickly briefing them thereafter. Elsewhere, Ryoshu continues her enigmatic journey through Manhattan's streets. However, her blue eyes soon find agents J and L quickly approaching from the front. Even though both wear MiB-issue sunglasses, the Ryoan woman seems to meet their gazes despite the impediment.)**

**(She stops and allows the two Terrans to quickly flank her. J speaks first, using a formal voice and tone.)**

**J:** Ryoshu Ryua.

**(Her eyes slide to him briefly while L continues her partner's address, though with a sensitivity added.)**

**L:** We would like a word with you please.

**(A grin crosses the lady's lips, her attention turning now to L. Again, her piercing sight sends a chill down the female agent's spine, as do her cold words, spoken merely in her own voice.)**

**Ryoshu:** Really?

**(J nods, adding.)**

**J:** It's about your daughters.

**(Her eyes linger on L for a moment in her answer.)**

**Ryoshu:** Do tell. Where are they?

**(Closing her eyes, she listens to J's reply.)**

**J:** If you'd come with us, we'll take you to them.

**(Her grin remains with her words.)**

**Ryoshu:** Please do.

**(J motions ahead as he and L both flank Ryoshu, escorting her through the crowded streets. The lady's eyes open, coolly watching the people pass rather than scanning the environs as she had. Still, L's uneasy gaze slides to the woman beside her, recalling a icy knowing in her Ryoan's eyes.)**

**(Soon, the three arrive in Madison Square Park while the sun finally descends behind the skyscrapers. In the moonlit shadows of the trees, Kiyone, Mihoshi, Mitsuki, and K' step forward. The officers and agents encircle the crimson-dressed lady, but Ryoshu simply glances around the group, the same icy calm about her as before. Though natural, her words also carry this cold feeling.)**

**Ryoshu:** It seems we are not visiting my daughters immediately.

**(Kiyone steps forward, her demeanor civil.)**

**Kiyone:** Ms Ryoshu, we will take you to them soon, but we'd like to ask you a few questions first.

**(The Ryoan's eyes narrow, irritation evident while Mihoshi pulls out a data tablet and scans the data concerning the woman before them. Similarly, the blonde addresses the lady in kind and respectful tone.)**

**Mihoshi:** It won't take too long. I promise. Ryoko and Nagi will both be happy to see you alive and well.

**(With a sigh, she accepts this.)**

**Ryoshu:** Very well. Ask your questions.

**(As Mihoshi glances down and reads the first question, Ryoshu glances toward Mitsuki.)**

**Mihoshi:** You were declared dead on 20 August 1992, but you're clearly not dead. Where have you been the past six years?

**(In the Ryoan's blue gaze, Mitsuki winces, the scars on her face and body tingling. L glances to the GP liaison, concerned while the lady answers.)**

**Ryoshu:** I have been a great many places, but I have primarily stayed on Ryua. It is my... home.

**(Ryoshu's eyes turn back to Mihoshi while J raises a brow at the answer, noting the pause at the end.)**

**Mihoshi:** Have you been in contact with your brother, Father Ryua Shinya?

**(The auburn lady swings her sight toward J, her piercing gaze unsettling him. Unconsciously, his hand twitches, ready to draw while she calmly answers.)**

**Ryoshu:** I often speak with him.

**(J interjects.)**

**J:** That's not how it was before you "died".

**(Ryoshu folds her arms, her eyes still direct at him.)**

**Ryoshu:** People change. I am sure that is no different on Earth than on Ryua.

**(L adds.)**

**L:** Yes, though some might force that change.

**(The lady closes her eyes and lowers her head.)**

**Ryoshu:** On the contrary, all change requires effort... particularly when it is _necessary_.

**(Mitsuki then voices her thought.)**

**Mitsuki:** And, was that "effort" on the part of your brother?

**(Ryoshu shakes her head, impatience growing in her eyes.)**

**Ryoshu:** Not in the least. It was entirely of my own design.

**(Both Kiyone and Mitsuki furrow their brows at this while Mihoshi apologizes and asks one more question.)**

**Mihoshi:** I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I have one more.

**(The Ryoan woman nods, acknowledging this and allowing the blonde one last question.)**

**Mihoshi:** Were you involved in any way with the events of last night?

**(Without hesitation, she answers.)**

**Ryoshu:** Of course.

**(At this, K' immediately draws his weapon, spurring J to also rest his hand on his weapon. Kiyone, Mihoshi, and L are taken aback by the reply while Mitsuki glares hotly at the Ryoan woman, her metallic hand gripped tightly. Still, Ryoshu merely sighs to herself, her voice calm.)**

**Ryoshu:** She did not tell you.

**(J motions K' to lower his weapon as Kiyone shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** No, whom do you mean?

**Ryoshu:** Ryoko, my eldest child. She never told any of you...

**(Ryoshu's eyes open narrowly, glowing with a color change. Her pupils have returned to a blood crimson, as deep as her dress, while her corneas shimmer a clear azure. In her reply, the Ryoan's voice blends with a chorus of other female voices, Tokimi's speech.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … what happened to her and the Juraian prince.

**(Now, Kiyone and Mihoshi draw their weapons, as do J and L. However, Ryoshu-Tokimi glances around them, indifferent to their hardware. Taken aback, Mihoshi questions her again.)**

**Mihoshi:** _You_ did that to Tenchi...?!

**(With a nod, the entity raises her hand, black and red power sparking at her fingertips. Elsewhere, Washu turns to a display of Manhattan Island, a plume of crimson rising from Madison Square Park. Also, with Sasami, her rosy eyes pop open with a gasp, fear written on her young face. Back in the park, Ryoshu-Tokimi coolly affirms Mihoshi's words.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I did. Now, I would like to see my daughters, _both_ of them. _Immediately_.

**(J denies this, leveling his deatomizer with both hands.)**

**J:** Not happening.

**(Kiyone concurs, one hand loose at her side as she aims with the other. Still, a nagging question slips from her aghast voice.)**

**Kiyone:** How could you do _that_ to him... in _front_ of your own _daughter_...?!

**(A mild glare emerges from Ryoshu-Tokimi's brow in her reply.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I tire of your questions, Makibi Kiyone. I will not ask to see my children again.

**(The teal-tressed detective pauses at her full name while L disagrees, her own sidearm training on the enemy.)**

**L:** You might see them after you're locked up.

**(The entity slides her eyes to the Terran woman, a warning in her words.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You deal with powers you cannot contain, Terran.

**(J taps his finger on his trigger.)**

**J:** Watch us. A deatomizer or a cricket _will_ go through a Ryoan barrier so you'd best take it down a notch.

**(Closing her eyes, Ryoshu-Tokimi replies coldly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … Such a naïve race...

**(The entity vanishes from sight with a whoosh of air filling the void she leaves. All six members of the GP/MiB team roll aside from their former locations, aiming at each respective location. However, a clawed, violet glove cuts into Kiyone's left shoulder, causing the detective to scream out. The others turn to see the officer held by Ryoshu-Tokimi, who has reverted back to the clothes she wore when Tenchi and Ryoko first saw her. Again, green markings weave their way down her cheeks and neck, onto her chest much like leaves. Mihoshi and Mitsuki both cry out to their comrade.)**

**Mihoshi & Mitsuki:** _Kiyone_!!

**(The enemy raises Kiyone up to meet her gaze, the claws cutting deeper as the detective grits her teeth to silence her pain. Ryoshu-Tokimi shakes her head, commenting.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You, who destroyed my prized construct, Kain...

**(She glances to Mihoshi as the blonde and the other personnel step back and regain their aim.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You, who aided her...

**(Kiyone forces her pistol to point toward Ryoshu-Tokimi's abdomen, but the being effortlessly thrusts Kiyone forward at Mihoshi. The blonde quickly reacts, extending her arms to catch her partner and roll aside, lessening the momentum as they fall to the ground.)**

**(Meanwhile, the trio of MiB agents fire their weapons. L's sidearm shot immediately ricochets off a spherical shield around Ryoshu-Tokimi, but J's does penetrate this. Yet, it impacts a secondary field within, resonating crimson in color. The cricket blast from K' similarly rips through the outer barrier, but all that explosive power washes harmlessly over the second.)**

**(Known for its recoil, the noisy cricket knocks K' off his feet and ten meters back near Kiyone and Mihoshi. Carefully, the blonde helps her partner rise, though she winces at the bloody grooves cut into her upper arm.)**

**(Mitsuki stands with J and L while the male agent blinks, confused at the results.)**

**J:** What the hell...?!

**(The redheaded GP officer rests her metal forearm in her opposite hand, her gaze set heatedly at the Ryoan woman.)**

**Mitsuki:** NVO energy, eh? Just like on Ryua?

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi narrows her cool gaze at Mitsuki.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You, scarred by him...

**(The scars on Mitsuki's face, as well as the phantom pains of her amputated arm, smolder while she twists her mechanical wrist out of position. At this, her metal arm begins to reconfigure itself, ripping the black glove apart as her hand and forearm become a barreled energy weapon. The liaison officer levels this device toward their enemy, anger filling her words.)**

**Mitsuki:** More than you know.

**(An emerald shot flies from her arm, enveloping them all in a green light. The bolt punctures both barriers around the entity, headed straight for her chest. However, one of her clawed hands swings up and literally grabs the orb of energy, though it does smolder and scorch her glove. Aghast, Mitsuki, J, and L take steps away from the enemy while she curiously examines the bolt.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Synthetically generated Jurai energy, Hakubi Washu's work. Impressive.

**(Her gaze then slides back to Mitsuki.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Still, it is only imitation.

**(Darkness flows off her glove and envelopes the bolt in her hand, the two opposing forces sparking violently as one consumes and disrupts the other. Now, holding a collection of her own power, the enemy adds.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** This, however, is not.

**(With a flick of her fingers, the energy shoots forward and punches a hole through Mitsuki's chest, leaving a stunned and blank look on her face. Horror rips through Kiyone and Mihoshi as they watch their friend collapse to her knees, taking one last glance down at the wound between her breasts. Blood trickles from the edge of her lips while her life and consciousness fades, her body slumping to the grass below.)**

**(Kiyone and Mihoshi both scream for Mitsuki as they run to her lifeless body. L also joins them, her medical expertise giving her a flicker of hope. J and K' both quickly regain their wits, along with a rage as both fire on Ryoshu-Tokimi again. K' gets tossed away again by his weapon's recoil, but J drags the trigger back again and again, the shots of both completely ineffective.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi glances around the group, shaking her head.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** This is not productive. I will use a different tact.

**(Her body fades away, leaving J to lower his weapon, filled with anger and helpless frustration. L eases Mitsuki's body back, shaking her head sadly. Kiyone holds Mihoshi as the blonde sobs into her partner's shoulder. While tears roll down Kiyone's cheeks, Sasami's adult voice narrates retrospectively.)**

**Adult Sasami:** When the first blood fell on the ground, it was the beginning of the end. Nothing would ever be the same again.


	7. Act 7

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 7Scene 1 – Wounded

**(With the MiB motor pool, the doors of the black van swing widely open as medics rush to help Kiyone down from the vehicle. The clawed imprint of a hand remains on her left shoulder from her recent encounter, easily seen by the blood seeping through the bandage over the wound. Mihoshi joins her, scrapes and bruises the extent of her injuries. The black, three-piece suits they each wear are likewise ripped and torn from tumbling along the ground.)**

**(L emerges next and quickly summarizes the wounds and treatment of the two to the other medics. As the GP detectives leave with the medics, they exchange a solemn gaze with L, who nods silently. J and K' exit the van's cab, a melancholy over the both of them while they join L at the rear of the van. She glances into the conveyance at the body on the floor, motionless beneath a black tarp. With a heavy breath, J murmurs under his breath.)**

**J:** … She didn't deserve that...

**(K' shakes his head before he steps toward the van. Yet, L's arm raises before him, spurring the attention of the younger agent. Coolly, with her eyes set on the corpse, she addresses him.)**

**L:** I'll handle it.

**(Confused, K' starts to speak when J interrupts him, echoing L's tone.)**

**J:** Leave it, kid.

**(K' turns his eyes to J, whose burning sight immediately silences the younger man's argument. J sets a hand on L's shoulder gently and nods.)**

**J:** Take care of her, Laurel.

**(Closing her eyes, she replies.)**

**L:** I will, James.

**(J pats her shoulder before referring again to K'.)**

**J:** Let's go.

**(J walks toward the exit, and K' follows after him, taking one last glance back at L. After both men have left, the lady agent blinks a tear from her eye and rests an arm against the wall of the van, remembering Mitsuki's death before her no more than an hour ago.)**

**(As J and K' proceed through the corridors of the MiB complex, their fellow agents swarm busily around them. Amongst this organized chaos, Pii calls out to the pair.)**

**Pii:** Oi! J! K!

**(The two men stop while Nagi, Pii, and Nerti join them. Though Nagi and Pii are equipped with their respective weapons and attire, Nerti continues to wear the suit of an MiB operative. The huntress glances at the myriad of busy agents before coldly addressing her question.)**

**Nagi:** What's happened?

**(Though less cold and more worried, Pii and Nerti echo this.)**

**Pii:** We all got a call from Zed, saying to report to the conference room.

**Nerti:** Is this about last night?

**(J's slides knowingly to Nagi as he answers coldly.)**

**J:** … You could say that...

**(Confused, Nagi furrows her brows at this while the male agent motions ahead.)**

**J:** It'll be easier to explain this once to everyone.

**(He spins abruptly back into the corridor while the other four follow behind. Pii and Nerti glance from him to Nagi.)**

**Pii:** What the hell was that about?

**(K' takes a breath and apologizes.)**

**K':** It's nothing personal. We lost someone in the field.

**(While Nagi quietly listens, Pii and Nerti are both taken aback by the news.)**

**Nerti:** Oh no...! Who was it?

**K':** It was Officer Matsu, Mitsuki.

**(Confused, Pii inquires as well.)**

**Pii:** She was killed in action, a GP officer on Earth? How does that work?

**(Icily, J answers.)**

**J:** … Frighteningly easily...

**(Nagi glances aside, pondering the actions and information she has seen and heard while the group of five continues through the hallways. Soon, they enter the conference room, where Zed sits at the far end of the white marble table. Flanking him, Washu and Yosho are seated, Azaka and Kamidake behind the legendary warrior.)**

**(Zed motions to the table, his tone respectful rather than his usual self-reverent bark.)**

**Zed:** Please, sit down.

**(K', Pii, and Nerti seat themselves while Nagi and J remain standing. The huntress merely folds her arms beneath her cape, observing the others while J rests his hand on the back of an empty chair. He glances aside, several questions burning in his mind. Zed takes a breath and nods as he taps a keypad on the table. He calmly speaks while the doors of the room close for privacy.)**

**Zed:** I'm sorry about Mitsuki Matsu, J. For the past couple years, she's been a good go-between with the Galaxy Police.

**(J raises his eyes to his employer, one question rising to the top of his thoughts.)**

**J:** … What the hell happened out there today, Zed?

**(Washu raises her hands, summoning her phantom laptop. She quickly accesses files while J emphasizes his query, the others listening.)**

**J:** I've seen Ryoans before. Ryoko... Washu... Hell, even the occasional out-of-towner. _That_ woman out there tonight...

**(He takes a breath and finds his words, heated words.)**

**J:** The kid drew down on her with a _cricket_, and it just passed over her like _smoke_! L and I emptied our clips into her barrier. It didn't even _buckle_!

**(Nagi and Pii consider this carefully, drawing on their own experiences while Zed glances down at his desk thoughtfully. J raises his head and continues.)**

**J:** Mitsy tried one of those fake-Jurai weapons. I guess she had it put into her arm. _That_ punched the barrier, but she...!

**(He pauses, remembering Ryoshu-Tokimi's clawed glove grabbing the glowing bolt of energy. Incredulously, he shakes his head and adds.)**

**J:** The bitch _grabbed_ it in midair and _flicked_ it back at her!

**(Azaka and Kamidake both are taken aback by this while Yosho's eyes narrow, his own consideration active behind his glasses. Nagi glances to J, asking.)**

**Nagi:** Who was this woman then if you thought she was Ryoan at first?

**(The agent's eyes slide to her first before he chooses to turn and face her. Coldly, he answers.)**

**J:** Your _mother_, apparently.

**(Eyes fall on Nagi, particularly Kamidake's, while one of Nagi's brows raises, her crimson eyes meeting his.)**

**Nagi:** … Excuse me?

**(K' nods and confirms this.)**

**K':** He's right.

**(Confused, Nagi turns to the younger agent.)**

**K':** "Ryoshu Ryua" was who we were sent to get. She even demanded to see both you and your sister.

**(The huntress shakes her head, her own gaze hardening with her words.)**

**Nagi:** That's impossible. Ryua Ryoshu died years ago. Ryoko and I were _both_ present at her funeral.

**(J waves his hand aside, a frown breaking through his forced impartiality.)**

**J:** Then, who the _hell_ was it that just blew a _hole_ in Mitsy?!

**(Nagi's lip curls at J's tone while he continues, focused directly on her.)**

**J:** She looked _just like_ the profile images we were given!

**(Kamidake steps forward, calling to the agent.)**

**Kamidake:** Agent _J_!

**(J spins to the red knight, whose eyes glare back at him, not unlike the huntress before him. Zed clears his throat, drawing attention to himself as he speaks.)**

**Zed:** Let me explain before you youngsters start roughing each other up.

**(He glances to Washu.)**

**Zed:** Dr Hakubi, if you please.

**(She nods, tapping one last key on her keyboard. Before the group, a projection rises from her laptop of the "Ryua Ryoshu" encountered by J's team, both in her red gown and in her clawed gloves and elegant shadow dress. Nagi's eyes widen in disbelief at the image, a woman over whom she swore hatred.)**

**(However, Nerti's gaze too widens, a chill rushing through her spine at the illuminated figure. Within her fractured mind, visions flash before her: a black energy broadsword, her own eyes turned blue and red, those violet claws looming over her. A spark of emerald shoots over her eyes as she holds her head, an acute ache interrupting her thoughts.)**

**(Pii turns to her, resting a hand on her back as he asks.)**

**Pii:** Nerti...?

**(She takes a breath, swallowing dryly as she nods and answers calmly.)**

**Nerti:** … I'm alright...

**(Her grey eyes again glance to the two versions of Ryoshu, her mind trying to cobble together those broken visions running in her thoughts. Yosho, Azaka, and Zed both take quick note of Nerti's reaction before the chief agent begins.)**

**Zed:** While Sir Azaka and I were reporting to Jurai about the distortion's defeat, I received a notice from Frank the Pug regarding a Ryoan woman wandering around Manhattan's streets. What you see here are scans taken of her both before and during the skirmish between her and J's field team.

**(J and K' both acknowledge this.)**

**J:** That's her, alright.

**(Nagi shakes her head.)**

**Nagi:** That can't be!

**(Nagi glares coldly at J, her eyes blazing in defiance of this fact.)**

**Nagi:** I _saw_ her _cold_ and _dead_ on Ryua six years ago!

**(J returns her glare with equal ferocity.)**

**J:** Well, she _isn't_ anymore, now _is_ she?

**(She sneers at him while Pii interjects his own question.)**

**Pii:** Wait a sec. Regardless of _who_ she is, she's Ryoan, right? Shouldn't some of the weapons J's team used torn through her barriers easily?

**(Washu shakes her head, commenting in a grave tone.)**

**Washu:** Not here.

**(Eyes fall on the genius as she clicks another key, producing a bar chart. Each bar is labeled with a different particular form of known energy: thermal, luminous, kinetic, and others as well as Jurai, Ryoan, and NVO. In the lower right of the chart is a time index, currently "20:31", with each of the bars fairly low, Jurai and NVO at 0.)**

**Washu:** This is the energy spectrum present at when you first encountered her.

**(She slides her finger along the side of her keyboard, advancing the time, which also causes the bars to vary. She stops at "21:13", a sudden spike of NVO appearing in her graphs. The others narrow their gazes at the sudden appearance while she points at the evidence.)**

**Washu:** This is right before you engaged her.

**(She slides her finger farther, bringing the time index to "21:18" when a minor Jurai spike appears.)**

**Washu:** Here's when Mitsuki used her weapon, I assume.

**(Nerti lowers her eyes somberly, drawing not only Pii's attention but also Washu's.)**

**Washu:** You installed that device?

**(The blonde nods, Pii wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she explains.)**

**Nerti:** She asked if it was possible, and I thought it a safe resort should any of the distortion make planet-fall.

**(The Ryoan scientist grins to herself and scoffs.)**

**Washu:** Not bad.

**(J turns to Washu with a question.)**

**J:** Then, what were we facing out there, Miss Kain Junior?

**(The scientist shakes her head.)**

**Washu:** Not quite. Kain was primarily an energy construct.

**(She waves a hand to her side, commenting.)**

**Washu:** Sure, he had a physical form made from carbon-based material, but that was primarily due to his consciousness molding that material around.

**(She nods to the Ryoshu image, her green eyes set on the two variants.)**

**Washu:** She's different. She's a human possessing and controlling type NVO energy, not unlike a Juraian or Ryoan does.

**(She glances to both Nagi and J.)**

**Washu:** After all, you two were on Ryua. You remember what Ryua Shinya was doing in that shielded room, don't you?

**(Depressing a key, the researcher projects an image of Shinya and his understudy Ryobachi chanting and focusing furiously to control a mass of wildly sparking crimson and onyx. Up and down Shinya's skin are circuit- and blade-like marks, seemingly resonating with the power before them. Azaka and Kamidake both widen their eyes at this, recognizing it immediately.)**

**Washu:** They were trying to infuse this power into Ryoko, if I recall her explanation correctly. I've cited similar connections to Ryoan and NVO energies. The two ethereal forms match up nearly exactly, Ryoan type being either weaker in some areas or nonexistent. Considering this and Shinya's actions on Ryua, I'm not at all surprised that _someone_ of Ryoan lineage actually controls that power.

**(She pauses, briefly glancing to Pii and Nerti as she considers the black-haired Leon Tae she and Ryoko saw using a black sword on Ryua. Her finger lingers over another key on her laptop, flashing and ready to be pressed, but J speaks up to interrupt.)**

**J:** Okay, that's nice sci-babble, but what about her catching Mitsy's round in midair?

**(Nerti shakes her head, thinking.)**

**Nerti:** That shouldn't be possible. Jurai and NVO are polar opposites. They pair-annihilate in most all occasions. If she was using NVO energy, that shouldn't have been possible for her to merely "catch" it.

**(K' disagrees.)**

**K':** Sorry, Ms Ro, but J and I both saw it _happen_. She literally caught it in those claws.

**(Washu glances up to the images, irritation growing in her eyes.)**

**Washu:** Something's missing.

**(J nods.)**

**J:** Yeah, whatever happened to Tenchi and Ryoko inside the distortion.

**(Pii eyes J.)**

**Pii:** What do you mean?

**(The agent turns to the hunter.)**

**J:** This "Ryoshu", whoever or whatever she is, said _she_ was the one who burned Tenchi.

**(Yosho's eyes harden at this while Zed inquires)**

**Zed:** So, Ryoko saw her?

**J:** That's right, Zed.

**(Nagi scowls as she spins toward the door. J turns back to her and grabs her shoulder, stopping her. Deftly, she grabs her sword without even looking at him as her words smolder from her lips.)**

**Nagi:** … Let go of me.

**J:** The hell you going?

**(Her eyes slide toward him, burning angrily.)**

**Nagi:** I won't ask a second time.

**(Kamidake grips his staff when Azaka grabs his hand. The younger man glances quickly at his elder who sternly shakes his head. J relents, releasing her shoulder, while Zed stands and speaks plainly to the huntress.)**

**Zed:** Nagi Jurai, I get that this is a rather personal issue, but I'd rather have answers than a skirmish between you and your sister.

**(She glares at Zed, her hand still on her blade.)**

**Nagi:** _Half_-sister.

**(Yosho sighs, rising to his feet with a calm demeanor.)**

**Yosho:** What he says is true, Nagi.

**(Her scarlet eyes slide to the legendary prince as he nods.)**

**Yosho:** We do need answers.

**(His lavender gaze meets her, an anger of his own evident.)**

**Yosho:** All of us do.

**(He closes his eyes and softly calls to his side.)**

**Yosho:** Sir Azaka?

**(The blue knight steps forward.)**

**Azaka:** My lord?

**Yosho:** Could you please join Nagi to speak with Ryoko?

**Azaka:** I will.

**(Kamidake pauses for a moment, his eyes showing a bit of shame for his earlier outburst. Zed nods and motions to J and K'.)**

**Zed:** Mind if they tag along?

**(Yosho glances to the chief agent as the man adds.)**

**Zed:** We _all_ would like some answers, after all.

**Yosho:** Fair enough.

**(Nagi turns back toward the door, her voice tone unchanged.)**

**Nagi:** … Fine.

**(She advances, shortly followed by J and K'. Azaka follows to the door, briefly, bowing respectfully to the group as he leaves. Yosho seats himself with a calming breath while Zed chuckles.)**

**Zed:** Well-handled.

**(Yosho shakes his head.)**

**Yosho:** We all need cooler heads.

**Zed:** Agreed.

**(Pii then glances between the two men, a worry on his mind.)**

**Pii:** Even with cooler heads, this situation doesn't exactly seem good. Any ideas on how to handle this "Ryoshu" if she gets out of hand?

**(Washu leans back in her chair and rests her hands behind her head.)**

**Washu:** I have a few ideas, though it would be easier with more hard data on her.

**Nerti:** What are your ideas, professor?

**(She glances over to Yosho, meeting his eyes.)**

**Washu:** First, what say we have some more information?

**(The grandfather nods, motioning to the red knight at his side.)**

**Yosho:** Have a seat, Kamidake.

**(He blinks, confused.)**

**Kamidake:** My lord?

**Yosho:** I'd like you to tell us a story, if you don't mind.

**(Uneasy, the young warrior seats himself while the elder man makes his request.)**

**Yosho:** Tell us of the Zealots of the Dark Matron.

Scene 2 – Darkness Falling

**(Within an infirmary suite of MiB headquarters, steam rises from the opening bathroom door. Here, Ryoko exits, her hair falling straight behind her head, easily reaching her waist. Dressed in one of her well-known striped dresses, the amber-eyed woman sighs deeply, her mind on her beloved elsewhere in the complex. Sitting on the bed, she glances at her knees while she remembers Nagi's parting words.)**

**Nagi:** His will is strong. The medics said he should recover soon.

**(Ryoko closes her hands and nods, repeating those sentences in her mind. Then, an odd noise from the door grabs her attention. She looks up to see Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki mewing back at her. The former pirate smiles to herself.)**

**Ryoko:** Feeling better?

**(Ryo-Ohki mews pleasantly while the two cabbits approach. However, the woman's smile diminishes, unable to hear her partner's thoughts. The furry creatures hop up onto the bed with her, Ryo-Ohki settling in her lap. Gently petting her brown fur, Ryoko scoffs and shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** I can't even hear you anymore...

**(Ryo-Ohki glances at her, mewing her question. Ken-Ohki likewise peers up at Ryoko who simply shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** I haven't been able to since the other night...

**(She scoffs, remembering her first encounters with Tenchi.)**

**Ryoko:** No more walking through walls, ripping holes in roofs, or even flying.

**(Ryo-Ohki mews sadly and nuzzles against her hand, making her mistress scratch her chin carefully. Ken-Ohki glances down quietly before his ear perks at a sound. He turns to the door as it slides away, revealing Nagi. She storms into the room, her hand still on the hilt of her weapon. Confused, Ryoko looks up at the scalding crimson fire in her sibling's gaze.)**

**Ryoko:** Nagi? What's...?

**(The former pirate stands, the two cabbits hopping aside when Nagi's free hand wrenches the collar of her elder sister's dress. Ryoko immediately grabs at the huntress's grip as the purple-haired woman pulls her aside and heatedly speaks only one name.)**

**Nagi:** Ryua Ryoshu.

**(A chill races down Ryoko's back while Nagi's other hand wraps around the hilt of her sword, anger burning in her eyes.)**

**Nagi:** Why, "_sister_"?

**(The Ryoan woman glances aside, fresh pain roused within her heart while Azaka, J, and K' arrive. Shocked and confused, the two cabbits meow at their mistresses. The azure knight immediately calls to the huntress, stern and firm.)**

**Azaka:** Lady Jurai Nagi!

**(Nagi, however, ignores him, asking her question again.)**

**Nagi:** _Why_?

**(Ryoko closes her eyes tightly, her own outrage welling into her hands and arms. She opens her amber gaze on her sister's crimson as she answers, fury and loss rising in her words.)**

**Ryoko:** _How_ should I have told _you_?

**(Her arms thrust forward, knocking Nagi back while Ryoko's voice bursts at her.)**

**Ryoko:** After what that _bitch_ did to Tenchi...?! After what she did to _me_...?! _How_ should I have told _you_, Nagi?!

**(Tears, both of rage and sorrow, roll down Ryoko's cheeks as she steps aside, gathering herself. Nagi approaches again, but Azaka's staff rises before her. The cloaked woman glances at the knight, who shakes his head. Silently, she relents, her eyes sliding back to her elder sibling. J and K' exchange a grave look, likewise remaining quiet while Ryoko takes a breath, calming herself to speak.)**

**Ryoko:** Whatever...

**(She pauses, choosing her words through her feelings as her hand raises and clenches at her side.)**

**Ryoko:** … _that_ woman is, she is _not_ Mom.

**(Worried, Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki listen while J interjects a question.)**

**J:** Then, who _is_ she?

**(Ryoko's glare falls on him, spurring his serious explanation.)**

**J:** She killed _Mitsy_.

**(Motioning to K', he adds.)**

**J:** She might have killed the rest of us too if she wanted.

**(The former pirate holds her arms close, her eyes sliding away. J starts to speak again when Azaka raises his free hand toward him, urging his silence. The agent glances to the Juraian man, who remains quiet long enough for Ryoko's words to rise on their own, though distant.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...

**(She closes her eyes and continues steadily, recalling the words spoken during their isolation.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi... called her... "Tokimi".

**(Azaka's eyes widen at that name while Nagi heatedly issues her own demands.)**

**Nagi:** That didn't answer _anything_, Ryoko.

**(Ryoko snaps back at her.)**

**Ryoko:** You _think_ I don't _know_ that?!

**(The two meet gazes while Ryoko vents her anger verbally.)**

**Ryoko:** _What_?! Do you think Mom _faked_ her death or something?! What the _hell_ do you even _know_ about her, Nagi?!

**(Nagi scowl fades while her sibling's rage and resentment rear themselves.)**

**Ryoko:** She _wasn't_ even a _pirate_, and certainly not a _killer_! She would have _never_...!

**(The huntress's ruby eyes glance down at Ryoko's tight fist as emotion overwhelms the cyan-maned woman. With a scream, she whirls and punches the wall. As blood rolls down her knuckles, she takes a deep breath, lost in conflicting feelings within her.)**

**(Azaka eyes Ryoko silently, his own thoughts running with what she has already revealed. Ryo-Ohki mews sadly for her partner while Ken-Ohki wraps one of his ears the brown cabbit's shoulders. K' watches silently, unsure what to ask, though J turns his attention Nagi, noting her reaction.)**

**(Nagi closes her eyes, quieting her own anger while a motionless moment passes for the group. Ryoko's arm folds as she slides against the wall and leans, the fury subsiding in the silence. Then, Nagi's words rise soft and distant.)**

**Nagi:** Father... spoke of her.

**(Ryoko looks at Nagi, a somber expression worn on the normally hardened face of the huntress.)**

**Nagi:** He said she was a strong woman.

**(Her eyes open slowly, meeting those of her kin as she continues.)**

**Nagi:** Both intelligent and passionate.

**(Ryoko listens, calm taking her in Nagi's slow and deliberate words.)**

**Nagi:** Far more noble than another woman he knew.

**(She glances aside, turning her bare cheek to her sister.)**

**Nagi:** … And, he loved her.

**(She turns back, and the two sisters exchange a gaze, a sympathy becoming visible.)**

**Nagi:** I knew only a legend of a mother.

**(Azaka lowers his eyes, his own thoughts retrospective, while another moment passes, the tension between the sisters ebbing. Ryoko's amber gaze lowers as she takes a breath.)**

**Ryoko:** Mom... wasn't a "legend".

**(She closes her eyes and shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** She just did what she had to so we could get by.

**(Nagi's voice rises softly, far less distant.)**

**Nagi:** … What happened, Ryoko?

**(The former pirate breathes heavily, remembering the incident within the distortion.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi was protecting me...

**(Her eyes open to gaze at her clenched fist, her anger present but smoldering under her control.)**

**Ryoko:** Whatever she did to me before we were taken drained almost all of my powers. I could barely make a dagger. Tenchi...

**(She pauses, Tenchi's words "... I... love... you..." drifting through her mind.)**

**Ryoko:** … Tenchi said everything would be alright.

**(Her eyes scowl back toward the others as she continues.)**

**Ryoko:** That's when she showed up. She tore through Tenchi's barrier to get at me and finish draining my powers.

**(She closes her eyes tightly and clenches her teeth as she turns aside.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi... tried to interfere...

**(Her eyes crack open toward Nagi as she continues.)**

**Ryoko:** She burned him...

**(Her gaze then turns to Azaka and concludes.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm not sure what happened next. Tenchi...

**(She searches for the right word.)**

**Ryoko:** … changed and rescued me. You know the rest.

**(Azaka furrows his brows, considering the information with his questions.)**

**Azaka:** Why did she target you specifically?

**(The Ryoan woman shrugs.)**

**Ryoko:** I don't know. She kept calling me her "daughter", even though she admitted that she was "Tokimi", this "Matron of Ryua".

**(She holds her arms close, remembering the claw cupping her chin.)**

**Ryoko:** She was creepy as hell.

**(While Nagi and Azaka continue to listen and ponder, J steps forward with his own inquiry.)**

**J:** Did she say anything else, anything to Tenchi?

**(Ryoko nods.)**

**Ryoko:** She said she wanted to stop our "meddling".

**(He raises a brow.)**

**J:** Meddling?

**Ryoko:** Tenchi's grandpa said something like it when all this started, that we've been interfering with something. I mean, we've stopped Kain, Mecha-Nerti, and Liaens. If Washu's right about Kagato, he was involved in all this dark energy stuff too.

**(J frowns, tapping his finger on his arm.)**

**J:** Something's not adding up here.

**(K' glances to his impromptu partner.)**

**K':** What do you mean?

**(The elder agent motions to Ryoko.)**

**J:** On Ryua, your uncle Shinya tried to infuse you with NVO energy, right?

**(She nods, drawing Nagi's attention to this discussion.)**

**J:** Why drain you?

**(Ryoko and Nagi both ponder this while J continues his train of thought.)**

**J:** And, if Tenchi was such a problem, why didn't she just kill him, or you, if you were in the way? It's not like she doesn't have the _power_ to.

**K':** Maybe something's stopping her?

**(The elder agent strokes the stubble on his chin, a grimace on his lips.)**

**J:** Maybe. She's real interested in both of you two.

**(He glances between both Ryoko and Nagi.)**

**J:** Since you know she _isn't_ your mother, it has to be for some other reason.

**(Azaka's wise gaze falls upon the headpiece of his staff while he speaks, memories filling his mind.)**

**Azaka:** Our past haunts us still.

**(The others turn to him as he adds.)**

**Azaka:** Lord Yosho was right.

**(J furrows his brows.)**

**J:** Right about what?

**Azaka:** More than I had hoped, it would seem.

**(He motions to the bed and chairs.)**

**Azaka:** Please sit. This is an old tale.

**(Ryoko, J, and K' seat themselves while Nagi chooses to stand. Ryo-Ohki returns to Ryoko's lap while Ken-Ohki remains on the bed near her. Azaka paces slowly around the room, gathering his memories.)**

**Azaka:** After the incident during the reunion, Lord Yosho, and Lord Tenchi as well, have asked both Kamidake and myself about the Matron of Ryua, the dark lady who was once greatly feared. In all honesty, we know little of her.

**(He stops, peering out the window of the door into the hallway.)**

**Azaka:** We came to know both her name and her power on Ryua during the last push of King Sho's campaign.

**(Elsewhere, within the conference room, Kamidake weaves his fingers together, speaking to Washu, Yosho, Zed, Pii, and Nerti. His gaze too is distant and engaged in his memory.)**

**Kamidake:** The war with Ryua had waged for over a decade, and we had finally broken through the Ryoan lines to their homeworld.

**(The scene fades to the crystalline world of Ryua in antiquity, where great gemstone palaces rose up toward the sky and Ohki ships cut through the atmosphere. An armada of these vessels meow and hiss as they turn their primary spines toward the sky and blast at an incoming fleet. Waves of Juraian tree-ships descend, raining emerald shots in return. Battle formations change and spread on both sides as crafts from both sides burst into flames and crash into the buildings and landscape below. Azaka and Kamidake continue to narrate.)**

**Azaka:** Admiral Juraihelm Saito and his fleet kept the primary defenses at bay while the king led a party to the surface, including Kamidake and myself.

**(From the battle, a single small tree-ship escapes and flies down toward the surface. Several Ohkis pursue but are cut down by battleship fire from the main sortie. The lone ship darts across the surface, surface batteries targeting and firing upon it from below.)**

**(The scene shifts to the ship landed safely near a great crystal building, a glorious crimson and onyx pillar reaching upward to the sun above. Azaka and Kamidake stand with several other Juraian soldiers, each armed with a staff and a holstered sidearm. These sidearms are designed from Juraian oak, much like the trees, with an emerald power cell glowing in the grip.)**

**(Leading them, a strong man raises a broadsword, directed at the structure. His violet hair falls around his face, darkening to black at its tips. His purple eyes coldly center on his target as he advances, the knights and soldiers following close behind.)**

**Kamidake:** King Sho lead the final assault on the Ryoan capitol himself. We knew that their Council of Twelve, composed of their highest leaders and statesmen, was waiting inside, and we expected heavy resistance.

**(Together, several soldiers set their staves into the grooves of the door and heave against the poles, slowly forcing the door open. However, Sho calls, yelling at them to fall back. One of them looks at his hand to see a black dot appear on his hand.)**

**Azaka:** We had fought Ryua and thought we knew their power in all its forms.

**(That soldier is suddenly consumed by a black fire that tears at his body, ripping him asunder before his brothers-in-arms. Azaka and Kamidake rush to their king's side as three Ryoans phase into existence at the door. Each of these warriors carries a black energy sword, as well as dark markings up and down their skin. Their eyes are coated the color of pitch, but they still wield their blades masterfully while they cut down the door crew.)**

**Kamidake:** We knew nothing of these dark zealots.

**(Covered in the blood of their victims, the three Ryoan zealots turn to the other soldiers, including the king and his knights. The Mark of Rage crosses the cheeks of Sho, Azaka, and Kamidake as their power is summoned to their hands and weapons. A few of the soldiers similarly ignite Jurai's power, each of royal descent.)**

**Azaka:** They were brutal, fighting like men possessed.

**(Back in the present, Kamidake gazes across those assembled with him as he concludes.)**

**Kamidake:** We fought them to the last man, losing many of our own in the battle. In death, they hailed their dark Matron...

**(He pauses, his voice softer.)**

**Kamidake:** … Tokimi.

**(With Azaka, he paces back toward Ryoko and Nagi, his eyes set on the two of them.)**

**Azaka:** Shortly after, we captured the Ryoan Council of Twelve and accepted their surrender. The king did have a committee investigate the dark power controlled by the zealots, but it seemed a lost art, practiced only by those that we had battled.

**(Ryoko shakes her head.)**

**Ryoko:** Not that I see, not after what I saw of Shinya and Ryobachi, or that other guy who was training there with them.

**(Nagi agrees.)**

**Nagi:** Look at Kain and the creations of Nerti Ro.

**(K' folds his arms and interjects.)**

**K':** Not really.

**(The others turn to him as he continues.)**

**K':** When we were briefed on the situation, the Science Academy produced their records regarding the NVO energy. They discovered it in Kain when he rampaged through the universe. After his captured, the academy researched the energy type. From what I understand, that's where Dr Hakubi and Ms Ro got their data, not Ryua or these "zealots".

**(J furrows his brows.)**

**J:** So you think they're _not_ connected?

**K':** Maybe not directly as we think, anyway.

**(Nagi shakes her purple locks.)**

**Nagi:** I disagree. Liaens spoke of a "Lady" giving him his second chance at Jurai, a lady who commanded a dark power.

**Ryoko:** Yeah, and so did Mecha-Nerti. Shinya and Ryobachi also called it their "Lady's" power.

**(K' waves his hand aside, rebutting.)**

**K':** Just because they _call_ it that doesn't mean that it is.

**(Azaka glances to the Terran and responds.)**

**Azaka:** Unfortunately, my friend, I have felt this power before in antiquity. I was amazed and shocked to see it once again in this era, wielded by a young woman, Nerti Ro.

**(He paces a few more steps, remembering the black sword clashing against his staff key.)**

**Azaka:** Not just wielded, but with the skill of the zealots themselves. She was _trained_ to use it in _their_ way.

**(Nagi lowers her arms and approaches Azaka, gaining his attention.)**

**Nagi:** Then, what or who is this "Lady Tokimi"? The name for their style? Maybe an honorary title?

**(He closes his eyes with a sigh.)**

**Azaka:** That I do not know for certain, Lady Nagi.

**(His eyes open to meet hers as he continues.)**

**Azaka:** But, I fear that it may be...

**(The warrior then pauses, an icy chill racing down his back and through his arms. He glances to the door before he pushes Nagi behind him and raises his staff, yelling to the others.)**

**Azaka:** _Get down_!!

**(Nagi also turns toward the door when it and the entire wall around it burst forward, sending shards of metal, glass, and other materials into the room. J and K' roll onto the floor, taking a nearby table down with them as protection. Ryoko and the cabbits likewise slide behind this meager barrier with them. Azaka stands firm, the small projectiles ricocheting off a transparent shield around both him and Nagi.)**

**(Alert sirens blare throughout the complex. Caustic dust fills the room when a ringing harbingers the appearance of small cylinders of black oak throughout the room, not unlike Ayeka's mini-guardians. These gather around Ryoko, Ryo-Ohki, Ken-Ohki, J, and K' as they cough and wave the dust away. Several grip around their respective hands and feet before shooting back, slamming each against the far wall and pressing their extremities against the solid structure.)**

**(These five cry out on impact while other cylinders appear around Azaka's barrier and press against it. He plants his feet and holds his staff key firmly, its headpiece spinning slowly with his steady increase of power against the pressure. Nagi draws her rapier and whip as both she and Azaka gaze toward where the door once was.)**

**(A single feminine figure steps through the dust, the impromptu fog parting in her wake. Emerging from the dust, this woman's pinkish combat uniform comes into clear view, a leaf-like design in the waistband. Around her wrists and ankles are golden bands, and a loop of purple arcs around her left shoulder. However, what causes Azaka to pause the most is the elegantly attended locks of violet around her head and tied in twin ponytails behind her, as well as the slate-grey eyes they partially conceal.)**

**(Nagi blinks, confusion mixing with her immediate defensive reaction. Ryoko, the cabbits, and the agents also are taken aback by their attacker, though Azaka simply shakes his head, hiding a horror and denial behind his stoic face.)**

**Azaka:** No... Princess...

**(Ayeka stands before him, suited for combat with a vile grin crossing her normally kind face. Her eyes meet those of the knight as she speaks plainly and simply, her voice blending with a booming male overtone.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Stand down, Juraiko Azaka.

**Ryoko:** _Ayeka_?!

**(The princess motions toward the Ryoan woman, still speaking to Azaka.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** I have come for her...

**(Then, she motions toward Nagi, who glares back at the royal lady.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** … and her.

**(The knight answers coolly.)**

**Azaka:** For the Matron?

**(A slight nod is his reply while her darkened mini-guardians bow the edges of his field. He grips his staff tighter, holding his ground. Agents start arriving behind the princess, staying back from the Juraian woman and her hostages. Calmly, she orders the knight again.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** This is an order. Stand down, knight.

**(He shakes his head.)**

**Azaka:** I will not.

**(Ayeka scoffs, glancing proudly toward Nagi.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** She is a mongrel, a half-breed with Ryoan blood.

**(Nagi holds her weapons ready, though Azaka's eyes remain fixed on the princess.)**

**Azaka:** She is of the Jurai royal family, the same as you or I.

**(The huntress's gaze darts to the knight, surprised at his words. The grin fades from Ayeka's face as she continues.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** You, who fought a war with Ryua, now protect someone descended from that world?

**(A bead of sweat appears on his brow as he answers, meeting her eyes with his.)**

**Azaka:** It was war. I did my duty, as did they. I hold them no ill will, nor their descendants.

**(She raises her right hand toward him, a wave of black rolling through Ayeka's costume. She shakes her head.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** I will go through you, knight.

**(J and K' struggle against their bonds, unable to move. Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki mew and growl, likewise fighting with their restraints. Ken-Ohki even tries to shift to his crystalline form, but a black shock shoots from the cylinders into him, forcing him to revert back. Nagi's attention slides back to Ayeka, shaking her head.)**

**Nagi:** If he falls, I will see you fall too.

**(Ayeka turns her eyes to her.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** You barely even control Jurai's power.

**(Yet, Ryoko watches Ayeka, the Ryoan's mind unable to compare this woman as the one she fought over Tenchi's affections. Then, she remembers the words of Shinya and Ryobachi to her on Ryua.)**

**Shinya:** Fourteen months ago, a beast was created and sent to Earth. It had two purposes. One was to kill the head of the Terran agency. The other was, if possible, to bring you back into the fold, by force.

**Ryobachi:** After the Lady's power fills your heart and mind, like it should have then.

**(Her eyes widen in realization, her own words coming back from her confession to Tenchi.)**

**Ryoko:** They wanted... to make me... a _monster_... That Illirg creature, the one that put Ayeka into a coma last year... _That_ was meant for _me_, Tenchi!

**(Ryoko pulls at her restraints, yelling down to Ayeka below.)**

**Ryoko:** You're _not_ Ayeka!

**(The grey eyes of the princess turn up toward her as she continues, her amber gaze piercing back.)**

**Ryoko:** You're that damned _thing_ they tried to put inside _me_!

**(Ayeka grins slightly, her head leaning aside slightly.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** … You're... _half_-right.

**(Ryoko strains harder at the bonds on her arms, an enraged scowl wrinkling her brow.)**

**Ryoko:** "Half" my ass! Ayeka would _never_ speak to either of the knights like you do! She wouldn't _threaten_ them, and she most certainly would _never_ be some bitch's _lapdog_!

**(Ayeka's eyes glare back at the Ryoan woman, the princess's hand drifting up toward her as that dark pulse rolls through her costume again.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** … If only you knew how _jealous_ she...

**(Ayeka pauses, a tear slipping from the corner of her eye.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** … _I_ was of you...!

**(A black orb of energy appears in Ayeka's hand, directed at Ryoko, who shakes her head defiantly.)**

**Ryoko:** She's not a _killer_. You're not _her_.

**(Ayeka's lips fail to move as the overtone which had mixed with her voice now speaks alone.)**

**Dark Entity:** … What do you know of her, Ryoan...?

**(Nagi whispers to Azaka.)**

**Nagi:** … Release the field enough for me to rush her...

**(Azaka shakes his head and whispers back.)**

**Azaka:** She is hesitating... She is fighting...

**(The knight closes his eyes as the headpiece of his staff shines brighter and rotates faster. Upon Ayeka's brow, her tiara key shimmers, its crest glowing a soft emerald. The pulse vanishes from her hand as she steps back away from Ryoko, grasping at the key. The dark being within Ayeka roars while the princess herself strains.)**

**Dark Entity:** Stop, knight! Stop now!

**(Within Ayeka's mind, she can hear Azaka's calm and patient voice calling to her.)**

**Azaka:** Princess, listen to my voice. Focus your thoughts here, in this room.

**(In return, the azure knight can hear her lone, frightened voice answering.)**

**Ayeka:** Please... Help me, Azaka...!!

**Azaka:** Focus on your surroundings. Stay aware. Do not let the entity cloud your mind again.

**(Ayeka falls to her knees, her mini-guardians vanishing while she cries out, the dark creature's words booming over her.)**

**Dark Entity:** I am _part_ of you, Jurai Ayeka! I _am_ you!

**(Ryoko, Ryo-Ohki, Ken-Ohki, J, and K' fall to the floor. Ryoko rises quickly enough to catch a glimpse of a black humanoid figure standing over Ayeka. The former pirate dashes toward the princess when Azaka orders her.)**

**Azaka:** Hold, Ms Ryoko!

**(She does stop and looks incredulously to the warrior. He answers her questioning and worried gaze, his primary focus still on his key.)**

**Azaka:** Do not distract her.

**(She turns back to Ayeka as the princess curls herself, the entity calling again to her.)**

**Dark Entity:** All the _jealousy_! All the _frustration_! All the _solitude_! _Everything_ you hold inside!

**(The Juraian woman's words plead vocally, independent of the entity.)**

**Ayeka:** Please... stop this...! Let me go...!

**(Ryoko grips her fist, wanting to interfere when an emerald orb appears around Ayeka. Azaka's eyes pop open while Ryoko races to her friend's side, only to have her and the orb around her vanish. The knight's barrier vanishes, allowing Nagi to join her half-sister's side where Ayeka disappeared.)**

**(J and K' stand while the agents outside rush inside the room, reviewing the damage and situation. J checks his wrists, asking.)**

**J:** What the hell just happened?

**(Ryoko and Nagi both turn to Azaka, who sighs and lowers his staff, its headpiece growing silent.)**

**Azaka:** Some force has possessed Princess Ayeka.

**(Gravely, Ryoko nods, meeting the knight's gaze.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, but where did she go?

**(Azaka turns toward the corridor, answering shortly.)**

**Azaka:** Ryu-Oh.

**(He quickly dashes off. Ryoko does not hesitate in following after him, though Nagi grabs her arm, stopping her. The two eye one another while Nagi states.)**

**Nagi:** This is a trap.

**(Ryoko pulls free and glares in return.)**

**Ryoko:** Do I look like I really _care_ about that?

**(The former pirate hurries to follow Azaka while Nagi pauses, watching her go. The two cabbits come to the huntress's foot, Ken-Ohki mewing up at his mistress. She sheaths her weapons with a nod, soon running to follow Ryoko and the knight with the cabbits racing after her.)**

Scene 3 – Daughters of Jurai

**(Water babbles through the channels of Ryu-Oh's deck-plates. The central tree stands proudly in the center of the bridge, its branches lush with leaves. An emerald orb appears before the great oak and soon fades to reveal Ayeka Jurai, clutching her skull. The violet-tressed princess kneels on the deck, pleading to the entity in her mind.)**

**Ayeka:** Please... stop...!

**(Behind her, a black figure arises from her shadow and looms over her, answering.)**

**Dark Entity:** Accept it, Jurai Ayeka.

**(A shadowy hand rests on her shoulder and materializes a taloned glove, composed of seemingly white porcelain. A wave of nausea invades the princess as the scent of burned flesh and soil overwhelm her senses.)**

**Dark Entity:** Over the past fourteen months, I have studied you from within. I know your secrets, your strengths, and your weaknesses.

**(She covers her mouth, doubling over as the creature's voice shifts to a familiar mockery of her own.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** How I _loved_ Masaki Tenchi... how _jealous_ I was of Ryua Ryoko... how _afraid_ I am of Jurai's power...

**(The entity's voice shifts back to the booming masculine tone as it scoffs.)**

**Dark Entity:** Power to surpass a god... and you repeatedly refuse to use it... You would rather rely on those little wooden blocks than unfurl your true glory, and _take_ what you actually want.

**(The being seems to kneel as its head-like formation nears her ear, whispering in Ayeka's voice.)**

**Mock Ayeka:** Don't worry. I _will_ show them _for_ you.

**(Ayeka's eyes open, shifting between grey and their natural amethyst coloring as her Mark of Rage grows along the sides of her face, extending another claw along each of her cheeks and one over her brow. Tears roll down her cheeks, her head shaking while she cries out.)**

**Ayeka:** _No_! Stop _tormenting_ me!

**(The crest of her tiara shines, resonating to her plea. A wave of greenish light flashes outward and passes over the black being. Its claw tenses, but its form remains whole as it shakes away the energy and speaks clearly again.)**

**Dark Entity:** That worked on Jurai, but I have grown since then. That mere key alone will not contain me a second time.

**(White porcelain lips materialize on its vague face, grinning widely as it becomes more whole. However, a soft voice rises from Ryu-Oh's tree, serious and grave in its inflection, Sasami's words.)**

**Sasami:** Leave my sister alone.

**(Both Ayeka and the creature turn to see the ten-year-old Juraian princess step out from behind the central tree. Her pinkish eyes appear dark crimson in the low light while she glares coolly at the creature possessing her sister. The entity smirks while Ayeka watches helplessly, whispering the girl's name.)**

**Dark Entity:** Ah, the _other_ princess. You watched as your sister killed Seia on Jurai.

**(Sasami nods silently, shame consuming Ayeka's face while the girl approaches slowly. The elder princess calls to her sister, waving her away.)**

**Ayeka:** _Run_, Sasami!

**(Sasami halts before the creature and peers up to its head, where more of a porcelain mask materializes, enough to encompass an onyx right eye. A fervor issues through the girl's words to the monster, certain and true.)**

**Sasami:** I will not tell you again.

**Dark Entity:** Brave words, little princess. Of all your sister taught you, she _never_ did teach you to know your _limits_.

**(The two triangular symbols on Sasami's forehead shine a brilliant emerald, causing the creature to recoil and retreat from the light. The azure-tressed princess replies to her sister's foe.)**

**Sasami:** I know my limits. You do not.

**(As the entity tries to shield itself with its makeshift arms, Sasami kneels with her sister, who also cringes beneath the aura of her sibling. The girl's hand rests on her elder sister's, but a green spark shoots between their hands, spurring Ayeka to pull away in pain. Sadness fills Sasami's eyes as she hangs her head.)**

**Sasami:** I'm... I'm so sorry, sister...

**(Softly, Ayeka responds, forcing the words through her lips.)**

**Ayeka:** … Why? … This is my fault... my weakness...

**(She holds her arms tighter, waves of cold and hot passing through her body between the Darkness and Light at war within her. Sasami shakes her head, raising her eyes to gaze on her sister's tormented form.)**

**Sasami:** … I saw, and didn't act...

**(Tears appear at the edges of Sasami's eyes and coast down her freckled cheeks, her sympathy raging within her heart.)**

**Sasami:** I... should have...

**(Ayeka looks back up to her younger sister, shaking her head slowly with a forced grin.)**

**Ayeka:** There's nothing... that _could_ be done...

**(Sasami sobs as she quickly stands and shakes her head defiantly.)**

**Sasami:** _No_! There _is_ something that _can_ be done!

**(The little princess closes her eyes as the emblem on her forehead shifts to a pair of green discs. Ayeka gasps in awe, her shifting eyes wide while her tiara shines harmoniously with Sasami's symbols. The dark entity writhes, its screeches echoing aboard the ship. Ryu-Oh's leaves shine and issue small beams of light, reflecting up around Ayeka, Sasami, and the creature.)**

**(Elsewhere in the MiB complex, Azaka races through the corridors toward the hangar containing Ryu-Oh. Close behind him, Ryoko, Nagi, and the two cabbits follow at an equally quick pace, Ryoko running evenly with her half-sister. From a side hallway, Yosho, Kamidake, and Pii emerge and join their party. Nagi turns to the three arrivals, questioning them.)**

**Nagi:** What are you doing here?

**(Kamidake answers, glancing quickly to her.)**

**Kamidake:** While we were meeting, there was an explosion in the infirmary. We came to investigate, but Ms Washu advised us that Ryu-Oh's teleport system had been used.

**(Pii glances over to the huntress, inquiring himself.)**

**Pii:** What the hell's going on?

**(Ryoko answers, focused ahead.)**

**Ryoko:** It's Ayeka.

**(Yosho, Kamidake, and Pii listen as the former pirate explains.)**

**Ryoko:** Some creature's latched onto her and started to control her. That Tokimi bitch sent her to take me and Nagi. Azaka got into her head and shook it a little loose, but that's when she teleported away.

**(Worry crosses the face of the red knight, as well as the stoic gaze of the legendary prince. Pii shakes his head, sympathetic.)**

**Pii:** I'm sorry to hear. I know what it's like to see someone you know get controlled. What's the plan?

**(Azaka answers, his voice cool and calm.)**

**Azaka:** We have to contain her. Then, we can concern ourselves with separating her from the beast within her.

**(Yosho nods, agreeing when a ruffle arises from his gi. The others turn back to him, all slowing to a stop. Kamidake furrows his brows, asking.)**

**Kamidake:** What is it, Lord Yosho?

**(From the great man's robes, the Tenchiken sword key floats up and hovers in the air above the group, its tsuba shimmering a deep violet. Ryoko and Pii raise brows at the reaction when the staves of Azaka and Kamidake shine their respective colors, the headpieces rotating slowly. Likewise, the crest of Nagi's hair-band glows purple and lifts away from her head.)**

**(Confused, Nagi watches her key drift to the sword, the two keys pulsing in sync with one another. She reaches for it, but her hand impacts a field surrounding the two. Yosho narrows his eyes, considering this while the two knights glance to one another. Kamidake's gaze is dubious, but Azaka's is firm, as is his nod. The elder man releases his staff to join the other two keys while Kamidake hesitates, unsure. Nagi spins to the knights, her voice demanding.)**

**Nagi:** What's going on? What is this?

**(Azaka rests a hand on his partner's shoulder, talking softly.)**

**Azaka:** She needs them, Kamidake.

**(The crimson knight concedes, releasing his staff to join the other three keys. Soon, all four glow together, synchronized in their pulsing light. A moment passes before they shine white as one and vanish from their masters. Ryoko motions to where the keys vanished and asks her obvious question.)**

**Ryoko:** What was _that_ all about?

**(Nagi's hardened glare falls on Kamidake, who lowers his eyes. He takes a breath to speak when Yosho speaks for him, gaining the attention of the others.)**

**Yosho:** Tokimi is the matron of Ryua, source of the dark power.

**(He glances over Ryoko, Nagi, and Pii.)**

**Yosho:** Where does Jurai's power come from?

**(A realization dawns on Pii, confusing him on some levels.)**

**Pii:** There's a similar figurehead for Jurai?

**(Azaka motions ahead, worry in his voice.)**

**Azaka:** We should hurry. If all the keys were necessary, this situation is far worse than expected.

**(Yosho agrees, setting the group into motion again. However, Nagi's eyes remain on the crimson knight, and also glance to his azure partner and Yosho as well, dubious about the trio. Ryoko and Pii both hurry ahead, though the male hunter does consider this information and the situation.)**

**(Aboard Ryu-Oh, a burst of white light appears between Ayeka and Sasami, dimming to reveal the four keys retrieved from Nagi, Yosho, Azaka, and Kamidake. Pulsing together with Sasami's emblem and Ayeka's tiara, the four keys drift around the elder princess: Nagi's hair-band to her right, the knights' staves to her back, and the sword before her. Sasami speaks softly, her voice more mature than her face would admit.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Rise, Princess Jurai Ayeka.

**(Ayeka pushes herself to her feet, struggling with the conflict waging within her. Yet, she steels herself with a deep breath, her eyes meeting those of her sister. The dark creature writhes and calls out, screaming at the sisters.)**

**Dark Entity:** I will _not_ be silenced! This prison will _not_ hold me _indefinitely_! I will have you, _Jurai Ayeka_!

**(Together, the five keys shine brightly, causing the dark entity's physical image to vanish in their brilliant light. Nagi's hair-band encircles Ayeka's right arm, mirroring the loop on her left. The knights' staves cross behind her back, Kamidake's adhering to Nagi's key and Azaka's to the existing loop. Warmth issues through Ayeka, cleansing her and returning her eyes to their natural amethyst shade. Similarly, her Mark of Rage reverts to its original one claw over each of her cheeks.)**

**(She takes a calming breath before her eyes turn to Tenchi's sword. Again, Sasami speaks in her mature tone.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Accept your fate, daughter of Jurai.

**(Calmly, Ayeka takes Tenchiken in her hand. Immediately, it extends, reconfiguring itself to its naginata form seen when wielded by Achika Masaki against Kain. The keys' light fades, leaving the elder princess equipped with all five keys of Jurai, and her mind free of the dark voice which had haunted her.)**

**(However, as the light fades from Sasami's brow, she stumbles. Her sister rushes quickly and catches her in her arms. The twin disc symbol reverts to the reflected triangles while the girl slowly recovers her breath. Confusion and questions chase through Ayeka's mind regarding her sister when her younger sibling speaks, in her normal voice.)**

**Sasami:** This is... temporary...

**(A gravity weighs on Ayeka's brow as she listens.)**

**Sasami:** He is growing... The keys focus and amplify your power... but he will eventually surpass it...

**(Her hand extends, and Ayeka takes it, feeling her weakened grip.)**

**Sasami:** We don't have much time...

**(Concern filters into the elder princess's eyes for her sister as she shakes her head slowly.)**

**Ayeka:** How...? How did you get so...?

**(Sasami smiles gently.)**

**Sasami:** I love you, Ayeka...

**(A grin crosses Ayeka's lips as she lightly kisses Sasami's forehead.)**

**Ayeka:** I love you too, Sasami... Thank you...

**(A screen appears before Ayeka, displaying the hangar around Ryu-Oh. Specifically, the image is of the nearby deck where Ryoko, Nagi, Yosho, Pii, the knights, and cabbits emerge from the exit to the primary complex. Gently, Ayeka lowers Sasami to the deck as she stands, a choice already made in her mind. She glances to Ryu-Oh's tree, where the mighty plant replies to her unspoken command with chimes of white light.)**

**(Sasami starts to sit up when an emerald orb surrounds her. She calls out to Ayeka, but the elder princess only watches sadly with solemn apology.)**

**Ayeka:** I'm sorry, sister. I'm so sorry.

**(Sasami vanishes from Ryu-Oh's deck and reappears between Ryoko and Nagi. Both pause and turn to her, Ryoko kneeling with the crying girl as she screams her sister's name toward the Juraian ship nearby. Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki hop in her lap, the former mewing sadly for her while the latter looks up to the wooden ship.)**

**(Ryu-Oh lifts up, her hull pressing against the upper doors of the hangar. From her hull, several weapon ports open and fire on the bolts holding these shutters closed. With one thrust, the Juraian vessel bursts out of the hangar and into the New York sky, flinging the doors aside on the surface. Sasami's mature voice narrates retrospectively.)**

**Adult Sasami:** "In the fields, I saw a woman of the Light, brilliance burning through the ranks. However, I could see a beast of Shadow at her side, clawing and snarling as the two fought."

Scene 4 – The Princess's Battle

**(In the moonlit twilight, the city of New York rests, the periodic siren breaking the low murmur of its nightlife. However, a shadow looms over it as the Juraian tree-ship Ryu-Oh passes overhead. Numerous citizens turn up and gawk at the extraterrestrial, wooden craft. Those of the off-world variety also raise their eyes to the familiar ship, confused and puzzled by her overt appearance.)**

**(Searchlights shine down from the vessel, passing over the streets below while Ayeka Jurai stands calmly aboard her bridge. Before her, several screens display the view of each scanning light, many times only showing confused and mesmerized Terrans staring back. Her amethyst eyes glance between each monitor, hoping to find the spiked hair of Ryoshu below.)**

**(However, a beeping tone rises, interrupting her concentration. Ryu-Oh chimes with filaments of light behind the princess, detailing the origin of the message. With a reluctant sigh, she nods and responds verbally.)**

**Ayeka:** Let her speak.

**(The scan windows slide aside when a new one opens for Ayeka, displaying Ryoko and Nagi aboard Ken-Ohki. Atop Ryoko's shoulder is Ryo-Ohki, who blinks sadly at the princess. While Nagi is cold and focused on her objective, Ryoko implores to her old Juraian rival.)**

**Ryoko:** What the hell are you doing, Ayeka?

**(Coolly, the regal-tressed woman answers, her words deliberate and plain.)**

**Ayeka:** Penance, Ryoko, and hopefully redemption.

**(Ryoko shakes her head, disbelieving the explanation.)**

**Ryoko:** That wasn't _you_! We all _know_ that! This is _stupid_!

**(Shame colors the face of the Juraian as she shakes her head.)**

**Ayeka:** … Some of it _was_ from me, Ryoko... more than I'd like to admit.

**(Outside, the crystalline Ohki craft flies to Ryu-Oh's flank. Aboard Ken-Ohki's bridge, Nagi glances aside at the Juraian ship's hull, noting the retracted gun ports. Ryoko continues arguing with Ayeka on the display before her.)**

**Ryoko:** So what? I've thought a lot of bad things about you too over the years! And, I _still_ think you're a stuck up princess half the time!

**(Ayeka closes her eyes while Ryoko takes a heavy breath and continues.)**

**Ryoko:** But, you're not all the time. Most of the time, you follow the rules...

**(She then glances knowingly to the princess.)**

**Ryoko:** … even when they don't let you have what you really want. Right?

**(With a soft smile on her face, Ayeka meets the gaze of the former pirate.)**

**Ayeka:** You always did speak your mind, Ryoko. I always did admire it, even when it infuriated me.

**(Sadly, she adds.)**

**Ayeka:** Maybe that's why he chose you.

**(Ryoko's heart twists as she shakes her head, denying the other woman.)**

**Ryoko:** This isn't about _that_!

**Ayeka:** I know it isn't.

**(Settled and sure, Ayeka explains.)**

**Ayeka:** This creature within me is only temporarily imprisoned by the keys. They augment my power to resist its influence. As such, I intend to use that power to combat this "Tokimi". It is possible that I might overcome her.

**(Ryoko glances at the floor for a moment, considering this.)**

**Ayeka:** Even if I don't, at least this creature should die with me.

**(The Ryoan woman gathers her fists and yells back at the princess, surprising her.)**

**Ryoko:** You stupid _bitch_! _Listen_ to yourself!

**(Ayeka looks aside somberly.)**

**Ryoko:** You think you're _alone_ in this?! That _thing_ out there is passing itself off as my _mother_ for God's sake! You think _I'm_ not pissed?!

**(Ayeka nods slowly.)**

**Ayeka:** I know you are.

**(Ryoko readies to roar her defiance again when Nagi speaks icily to the regal lady.)**

**Nagi:** What about your sister?

**(The amethyst eyes rise to meet the crimson gaze of the huntress, grave and true.)**

**Nagi:** Would you leave her without family?

**(Ayeka takes a sharp breath as a pain ripples through her heart.)**

**Ayeka:** … Don't.

**(Nagi, however, remains adamant.)**

**Nagi:** I've _lived_ that life, princess. Would you leave her...?

**(The regal-tressed woman interrupts again, her voice more forceful.)**

**Ayeka:** Don't bring Sasami into this.

**(Ryoko joins Nagi, adding clearly.)**

**Ryoko:** She's right. She's with Tenchi's grandpa and the knights, but she needs _you_, her _sister_.

**(The huntress glances to her half-sister, considering her words when on both ships, a notice appears to each pilot. Outside, two more vessels crest over the horizon, Pii's Caroki fighter and the Grey saucer salvaged by the MiB. Before Ayeka and Nagi, displays open, one with J's face and the other with Pii's. Nagi glares at the other bounty hunter.)**

**Nagi:** What are you doing here?

**(Pii motions toward Ryu-Oh and answers.)**

**Pii:** Ryoan and Juraian ships might be matched, but we want to take her without trouble.

**(J concurs.)**

**J:** Yeah, you two have caused enough ruckus already just flying over.

**(Ayeka shakes her head.)**

**Ayeka:** I will not return yet. I...

**(An alarm sounds aboard Ryu-Oh. The princess spins toward a monitor highlighted in the brightest scarlet. There, all her spotlights gather and illuminate the form of Ryoshu Ryua below, again garbed in the red evening gown from hours before. Surprised, Ayeka announces this to the others.)**

**Ayeka:** _There she is_!

**(The other ships quickly ascertain her position as well on the streets below. A shiver shoots down Ryoko's spine, seeing the vision of her mother again. Nagi pauses, the face and figure conjuring a familiarity in her deepest heart. Aboard the saucer, J glares down at the Ryoan woman and motions to K' at the ship's controls. The younger agent nods while on Caroki, Pii's brows furrow, a little underwhelmed. However, all hear Ayeka's single, unequivocal order.)**

**Ayeka:** _Open fire with all weapons_!

**(Across Ryu-Oh's hull, gun ports slide open and target the Ryoan woman below. Similarly, the saucer turns to bear its pseudo-Jurai weaponry as well. Ken-Ohki and Caroki hover nearby, the three aboard watching the barrage of emerald bolts flying down into the Manhattan cityscape.)**

**(Below, Ryoshu observes the coming rain of energy before she fades away, reappearing in the air before all four ships. Alerts sound on each craft while the Ryoan woman eyes Ken-Ohki in particular. To herself, she comments.)**

**Ryoshu:** Not at all my expectation, but it is sufficient.

**(The green Mark of Rage grows along her chest, neck, and cheeks while her eyes shift to their red and blue coloration. Her hands rise before her, and with a flick of her wrists, walls of force slam into both Ryu-Oh and the saucer. Alarms scream on both vessels while K' tries to regain control of his craft. Similarly, Ayeka steadies herself, her tiara burning a bright emerald as she mentally instructs Ryu-Oh.)**

**(Nevertheless, both crash into a pair of tall towers in downtown New York, embedding into each. On Ryu-Oh, Ayeka pushes herself back to her feet, her eyes watching the flickering image of Ryoshu hovering a distance away. However, a sickening lurch of the deck robs her attention from the Ryoan woman.)**

**(Aboard the saucer, sparks shoot from broken conduits while J shakes off the impact, strapped in his chair. K' holds his head and gathers his wits when like Ryu-Oh, a sudden shift of the machine around them signals a coming doom. Both grip their seats when the shift quickly becomes a tumbling fall. Similarly, Ayeka surrounds herself with a defensive barrier as the deck below her falls.)**

**(Outside, the twin towers shake and collapse, both shattering concrete, glass, and steel to plummet toward the street below, as well as the cars and people there. In several of the adjacent buildings, people spin toward their windows, horrified as waves of debris collapse downward, burying both Ryu-Oh and the saucer in mounds of rumble. Dust consumes the streets, choking New York's business district of the pale moonlight above, as well as air.)**

**(Ryoko, Nagi, and Pii witness this, but the Terran hunter quickly spins his own weapons to bear on Ryoshu. However, the woman vanishes, reappearing aboard Caroki's bow. Kneeling, she rests a hand on the ship's hull. A black flame rises from her touch and quickly envelopes the Pentinian craft. Pii pulls at his controls with no response as he curses, recognizing the fire.)**

**Pii:** _Dammit_! Not again!

**(The flames completely consume the ship and then dissipate, the craft now removed from action. Ryoshu turns toward Ken-Ohki while aboard the Ryoan craft, Ryoko spins to Nagi and motions toward the enemy, demanding.)**

**Ryoko:** _Nagi_! Open _fire_!

**(However, the huntress hesitates, her crimson eyes in disbelief at the woman hovering before her ship. Ryoshu vanishes, reappearing immediately on the crystalline deck in front of the two sisters. Ryoko takes a fast step back, assuming a defensive posture. Ryo-Ohki hops to the deck, hissing at the elder Ryoan woman. Nagi's eyes widen at the embodiment of her mother standing now with her. Speechless, she swallows dryly while Ryoko calls to her again.)**

**Ryoko:** Don't just _stand_ there!

**(However, the green marks and eyes coloration leave Ryoshu's face, leaving her the same beautiful woman that gave birth to these two daughters. She shakes her head, those blue eyes meeting the crimson of Nagi's.)**

**Ryoshu:** You have nothing to fear, my daughter.

**(The shock soon leaves the eyes of the huntress as she draws her rapier and whip. Cautiously, she slides back defensively, replying.)**

**Nagi:** Stay where you are.

**(Ryoshu sighs somberly.)**

**Ryoshu:** What has your sister told you?

**Nagi:** She's said more than enough.

**(The maternal figure opens her arms to her younger daughter, her voice soft and kind.)**

**Ryoshu:** My dear Nagi, I am not some monster to be feared. I am your mother... and far more.

**(Ryoshu advances a step when the huntress swipes with her blade. However, the Ryoan woman catches the blade with her left hand, the taloned glove appearing to protect her hand. Surprised, Nagi pulls at the weapon but finds the grip firm as the female chorus fills Ryoshu's voice.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Your _father's_ teaching, I see.

**(A cold expression filters through the being's face as her evening gown is replaced by the violet gloves and wardrobe from her earlier combative encounters. The green marks and eye coloration reappear as she reveals her more conspicuous attire. Nagi snaps her whip at the entity holding her sword, but it is immediately deflected by a spherical barrier around her target. With a heavy sigh, Ryoshu-Tokimi shakes her head.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … Pity that I left you with him.

**(Nagi glares at this insult as she depresses the trigger of her sword's laser weapon. The beam emerges from the tip of her rapier and ricochets off another barrier protecting the enemy's chest. With a sadness in her choral voice, Ryoshu-Tokimi inquires of her offspring.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Do you hate me so much?

**(Before Nagi can answer, Ryoko replies in her stead.)**

**Ryoko:** I certainly hate _your_ ass, you _fake bitch_!

**(Both turn toward Ryoko as she calls down to Ryo-Ohki.)**

**Ryoko:** Give her everything you've got!

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi releases Nagi's sword for the huntress to slide away while Ryo-Ohki hops into the air. She quickly assumes her crystalline aspect, becoming a single, rhomboid gemstone. Hissing angrily, the cabbit burns a bright scarlet before unleashing a wave of ruby light on Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**(However, the being stands firm, the blast splashing against her defensive barrier. Nagi glares at this and calls to her companion.)**

**Nagi:** Help her, Ken-Ohki!

**(The white ship around them gathers his four gemstones from around the bridge to point at Ryoshu-Tokimi also. Together, they assault the Ryoan woman much like Ryo-Ohki, though more disperse. Still, they have no effect, bombarding only a protective field.)**

**(Nagi watches this, her brows furrowing in thought as well as some amazement. From the ruby fire, Ryoshu-Tokimi's icy words call out to the two Ohkis.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Be silent, conduits.

**(At this, both attacks suddenly terminate, the crystals moving away from the Ryoan woman. Both Ryoko and Nagi are taken aback as the gems obediently comply. However, on the deck nearby, the furry humanoid forms of Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki appear. Ryo-Ohki kneels in seiza while Ken-Ohki has taken a knee. Yet, both visibly resist, trying to move from this submissive posture.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi turns to the two sisters and glares at them, her cold expression clearly displeased. Her talons rise toward Nagi as she speaks.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You disappoint me, just like your sister.

**(Crimson lashes emerge from her talons, snapping around Nagi while Ryoko rushes to her sibling's side. The bonds scald the huntress's skin, though she remains standing, willing herself through the pain. Ryoko grabs at the cables but is tossed back by a concussive force within the restraints. She recovers quickly a few meters away, watching Nagi struggle but take a knee under the attack.)**

**(However, Ryoshu-Tokimi also furrows her brows, confused herself. She questions herself, unsure.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** What is this? Your Ryoan energies... _refuse_ to leave your body?

**(Ryoko calls out to her, demanding.)**

**Ryoko:** _Leave her alone_,_ you damned bitch_!!

**(The powerful being glances to Ryoko, a somber gaze in her eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I hardly _desire_ to see either of you in pain.

**(She flicks her wrist, the cables releasing Nagi. Ryoko hurries back to her side while she recovers. However, outside, another figure appears in the sky before Ken-Ohki. Clad in her pinkish combat uniform and the five keys of Jurai, Ayeka floats in the sky, a few of her mini-guardians aiding her to hover. Ryoshu-Tokimi glances toward the princess, irritation in her eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** It seems he is caged better than I expected.

**(While she is distracted, the yellow gem in Ken-Ohki's forehead shines brightly. He bares his teeth as a violet orb encases Ryoshu-Tokimi. She glances back in time to see herself vanish from the Ryoan bridge and reappear outside near Ayeka. The Ryoan woman turns back to the crystalline starship while aboard, Ryoko's eyes center on her mother's image. Nagi takes a deep breath while her sibling quickly requests.)**

**Ryoko:** Get us the hell out here, Nagi!

**(Nagi nods glancing to Ken-Ohki's image. Immediately, the Ohki ship darts away over the horizon, leaving Ryoshu-Tokimi with the Juraian princess. Settling the extended Tenchiken before herself, Ayeka takes a calming breath, the arcing blue blade extending from the violet guard of the weapon. Her eyes center on her enemy, who speaks coldly to her and without turning to face her.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You served your purpose, Jurai Ayeka.

**(The princess's eyes glare angrily at the dark being.)**

**Ayeka:** Not until I see you fall, "Tokimi".

**(A brow rises on the Ryoan woman's face as she glances back to the Juraian lady.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Interesting. Not only do you cage him with those keys, but you challenge me as well?

**(Tenchiken's edge lowers to aim toward Ryoshu-Tokimi as Ayeka readies herself. The powerful entity faces the mortal, extending an open palm at her side.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Sister has been busy.

**(Gravely, Ayeka leaves one question.)**

**Ayeka:** I ask this only once. Will you remove this creature from me and leave us in peace, all of us?

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi considers the princess.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Unlike Jurai Kagato, you were a mistake, young princess. The entity within you was meant to guide my elder daughter, not corrupt you.

**(Her eyes narrow, a thought coming to her mind.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** However, I see potential in this marriage of Darkness and Light.

**(Steeling herself, Ayeka tightens her grip on the great sword and takes a calming breath.)**

**Ayeka:** Then, defend yourself, Matron of Ryua.

**(Suddenly, Ayeka draws the weapon back and darts at Ryoshu-Tokimi, the blade swinging at the woman's center of mass.)**

**(Elsewhere, Sasami stands aboard the bridge of Funaho, facing the grand tree at the ship's heart. With her, Yosho, Azaka, and Kamidake are gathered as a rain of light rays shroud them all from Funaho's leaves. The legendary prince's glasses shine brightly with reflected light while he comments.)**

**Yosho:** Then, it was you who saved Jurai during the reunion, as well as protected us when Liaens's weapon fired.

**(Sasami nods gently, resting a hand on Funaho's trunk. He continues, glancing to her touch on the mighty plant.)**

**Yosho:** You also brought back both Funaho and Ryu-Oh from their rest in the Earth's soil.

**(She glances down, the symbol on her forehead glowing gently.)**

**Sasami:** I... am connected to them both...

**(Azaka steps forward, adding.)**

**Azaka:** Even the ghost child in the dead sea of Sargasso reacted to your spirit, my Lady.

**(The girl smiles softly and glances toward the azure knight, a kind expression on her face.)**

**Sasami:** You know me better than most, Juraiko Azaka. You need not address me so formally. You know well my name.

**(He nods, acknowledging this while Kamidake furrows his brows, considering the reality before him.)**

**Kamidake:** Then, we do truly face the Matron of Ryua, here on Earth?

**(A sadness crosses Sasami's eyes as she answers.)**

**Sasami:** Evidently...

**(She turns her attention to Funaho's shimmering leaves as she continues.)**

**Sasami:** However, I can no longer wait for the situation to solve itself.

**(Yosho somberly utters his own thought.)**

**Yosho:** For Ayeka...

**(Sasami takes a breath and remains silent for a moment before she levels her eyes to the tree.)**

**Sasami:** … I made a promise to my sister...

**(Her eyes close as she adds.)**

**Sasami:** … one I hope I do not need to break.

**(The symbol on her forehead shifts to the two disc logo she has evoked previously, her voice mixing with its mature variant.)**

**Sasami-?:** Be prepared. You will be needed just as I am.

**(A brilliant white light emblazons itself upon Funaho's trunk, outlining a great torrent that wraps like wings around the great tree. The men shield their eyes, looking away as Sasami's figure is lost in the light surrounding her. Behind her, ten arcs cut through the air around her and widen into shields, seeming to crack reality itself. These, her Light Hawk Wings, furl around her as her feet lift from the ground.)**

**(Within the MiB headquarters, a display suddenly opens before Washu. Her green eyes slide to it with furrowed brows while Zed and Nerti turn to her. The Terran agent addresses her, a brow rising.)**

**Zed:** A problem, Dr Hakubi?

**(Washu quickly tacks away at her phantom keyboard, explaining as she does.)**

**Washu:** There's a huge spike of Jurai energy coming from your hangar.

**(Nerti glances over to the screen herself, curious.)**

**Nerti:** Where is it coming from?

**(Washu's right hand slips away to a side panel, entering a code that displays a window with a diagram of MiB headquarters. Specifically, it zooms immediately to the hangar level, Funaho's dock. Zed folds his arms.)**

**Zed:** That's not overly surprising. Funaho is a Juraian ship.

**(Washu pauses typing and glances over to him, a mildly insulted look on her face. She rotates the display toward him. Upon the screen, a bar graph displays various ambient energies at low levels, but two large spikes: Jurai and NVO. The agent is taken aback, as is Nerti.)**

**Washu:** Whatever's going on in there, it's on the same scale as our Tokimi problem outside.

**(Zed eyes Washu knowingly.)**

**Zed:** Didn't Yosho and the two knights remain behind?

**(Washu stands and turns toward the door, a determination in her words.)**

**Washu:** I'm _sick_ of this. I'm going to find out what's going on.

**(Her screens and displays vanish when Nerti stands also.)**

**Nerti:** I'll go with you.

**(Impatiently, the researcher agrees before Zed calls to her.)**

**Zed:** Will you be ready in time?

**(Washu pauses at the door, Nerti soon joining her side, as she answers.)**

**Washu:** Of course. The cannon...

**(A window opens to her left, stealing her attention as well as her breath when she reads the message. Zed narrows his eyes at her.)**

**Zed:** Another problem?

**(She glances back to him, Nerti stealing a look at the screen herself. The blonde is taken aback by the text, memories returning of the red and blue eyes consuming her own.)**

**Washu:** Kagato's sword key has just _vanished_ from the pocket dimension I sealed it in.

**(Zed's brows pop up at this while Nerti settles her heart, gripping her hand at her side.)**

**(In downtown New York, Ayeka flies backward and smashes into the concrete wall of a nearby building. The breath is knocked from her lungs as she falls from her imprint in the stone, catching herself on her feet and Tenchiken's elongated hilt. Opposite her, Ryoshu-Tokimi drifts down from the sky, Kagato's dark sword in her hand. The vile weapon's guard is open and blazing its broadsword blade in a black, edged by crimson.)**

**(Ayeka rises to her feet again, her amethyst eyes falling on the dark sword in her enemy's hand. The dark being watches her patiently, commenting.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Submission would be far easier.

**(The princess gnashes her teeth as she thrusts with the naginata-like Tenchiken, Ryoshu-Tokimi knocking it aside with Kagato's blade. With a glance from her purplish eyes, Azaka's staff charges its headpiece at Ayeka's unspoken command. A blue bolt of Jurai energy flies at Ryoan woman, who pauses and summons a scarlet barrier before her.)**

**(However, the azure charge tears through this, forcing the dark lady to slide aside. Still, the energy pulse catches the edge of her right cheek, scorching her fair flesh. She steps back, raising a taloned hand to her marred skin, surprised by the force sent at her.)**

**(Yet, Ayeka turns her blue blade at Ryoshu-Tokimi once again. The Ryoan glares hatefully at the Juraian and swipes the sword at her, issuing forth a black crescent from the blade's edge. The princess steps back, raising her weapon. Together, her tiara and Nagi's hair-band shine a deep violet, summoning an azure barrier around Ayeka. The crescent smashes into the barrier, dissipating as it coasts over the surface.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi vanishes from sight, reappearing just behind Ayeka's left. Her regal claws slash into the princess's barrier, tearing through the blue light and into her arm. The dark lady shreds the loop around her shoulder and draws her blood. The Juraian cries out as she spins, swinging the blue blade at her attacker.)**

**(Again, the Ryoan teleports behind Ayeka, but the princess immediately glances back, Kamidake's staff charging its headpiece. Ryoshu-Tokimi sneers as she fades away, the crimson light of the knight's weapon flying into the distant sky unimpeded.)**

**(Above the princess, her enemy reappears, Kagato's blade pointed down toward her. The whoosh of passing air catches Ayeka's attention. Quickly, her mini-guardians appear around Ryoshu-Tokimi and ignite their Juraian field. The dark woman hisses and swipes the black blade before her, not only cutting through Ayeka's little log units, but also sending another wave of dark power down at her.)**

**(The Juraian glances up with a gasp before she kicks forward, a few mini-guardians appearing around her to grant her levitation. The black wave cuts into the asphalt and concrete below them while Ryoshu-Tokimi drifts down to the ground, her heated gaze set on Ayeka.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Each strike weakens the cage around him, child.

**(The princess spins back to face her enemy, holding her wounded arm close.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Your fate is inevitable.

**(The Juraian retorts.)**

**Ayeka:** Not if I fall, or you in my stead.

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You overestimate your weapons, and yourself.

**(A tear rolls down Ayeka's cheek as she shakes her head, a somber determination set in her eyes.)**

**Ayeka:** … I will _not_ be Kagato reborn...

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You will not be a conqueror, girl.

**(Coldly, her crimson and azure eyes meet the amethyst of Ayeka's.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You will be a _destroyer_.

**(Her eyes close as she swallows dryly, nodding.)**

**Ayeka:** So be it...

**(She holds Tenchiken tightly, forcing her left arm to clasp the weapon as her mini-guardians appear around her. As each chimes into existence, the five keys around her glow emerald, brighter with each appearance. The blue blade grows and flares a brilliant azure, assuming a squall's swirl as it arcs for its current mistress.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi watches, her brows furrowing while the princess opens her eyes and nods again. Her eyes raise to meet those of her enemy as the tears flows down her cheeks, gravity weighing heavily in them.)**

**Ayeka:** Forgive me, Sasami...

**(Ayeka leans forward slightly just before she rushes forward, her blade leading the way and power accumulating in the two staves. Ryoshu-Tokimi scowls, raising her free hand at her side as the emerald and blue power approach.)**

**(Aboard Funaho, the encompassing white light fades, allowing Yosho and the two knights to see the figure of a young woman, no less than twenty kneeling before the central tree. Around her, a cascade of fine blue hair flows over her naked form. Yosho blinks at her in surprise while Azaka and Kamidake both immediately take a knee in respectful servitude to her.)**

**(The woman raises her face to Funaho's tree, the two green discs upon her forehead shimmering gently. Her rosy eyes open as she speaks, Sasami's adult voice.)**

**Adult Sasami:** Thank you.

**(Around her, ten Light Hawk Wings crack open, their gentle white glow and bladed shape defending their mistress. Together, they wrap around her and take the shape of a gorgeously embroidered white kimono. Taking distinctly from an ancient Juraian style, the leaf motifs and water imagery shroud the young maiden. Her hair is also tied and styled into two ponytails flowing down behind her, easily to her heels.)**

**(She turns to face the legendary men as Azaka speaks softly.)**

**Azaka:** Welcome back to us, our Lady of Mystery.

**(Kamidake echoes him.)**

**Kamidake:** Goddess of Jurai, Lady Tsunami.

**(Tsunami glances down to the two knights and answers them, her voice quite mortal and regal, mirroring Ayeka a great deal.)**

**Tsunami:** Rise, Azaka and Kamidake. We have much to do.

**(Her serious eyes meet Yosho's as she continues.)**

**Tsunami:** We must act swiftly...

**(On the streets of Manhattan, the five keys of Jurai lay scattered along the broken asphalt of Times Square, each losing its emerald glow. Nearby, Ayeka lies motionless, bloody cuts along her left arm, right cheek, and abdomen. Her breathing is slow and labored as above her, Ryoshu-Tokimi steps forward, Kagato's sword burning loyally at her side. Tsunami's voice explains.)**

**Tsunami:** … lest we lose more for whom we hold so dear.

**(The dark woman's eyes pan toward the keys as they all pulse white and vanish. She comments to herself, her gaze narrow.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Welcome, Sister.

**(She kneels next to Ayeka while the princess's eyes open weakly. Coldly, the dark lady rests her hand over the Juraian's eyes, whispering.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Arise, my dark princess.

**(Ayeka stiffens as a wave of black passes over her, shifting her pinkish combat uniform to black and grey hues. Her mouth opens in a silent scream as an onyx fire appears in her hands, the corruption of her power now complete. Ryoshu-Tokimi stands, her hand leaving the steady grey gaze of the twisted princess, Dark Ayeka.)**

**(She pushes herself to her feet, extinguishing the power in her hands as she turns to the Ryoan woman. Pointing into the distance, Ryoshu-Tokimi issues her command.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Occupy them while I handle my daughters.

**(Dark Ayeka bows respectfully before she faces the indicated direction. Her eyes narrow as her feet lift from the ground. Ryoshu-Tokimi opens her hand, a Light Hawk Wing appearing over her palm. Her claws close around it, the extra-dimensional construct molding itself to her will into a Juraian-like key. Specifically, this device is grey in color, much like Kagato's sword key, but thorned with a bladed crest upon its apex, a second tiara. Gently, the Ryoan sets this upon Dark Ayeka's brow, a mild grin crossing the princess's lips.)**

**(Without another word, the Juraian darts into the distance while Ryoshu-Tokimi looks to the side, the direction Ken-Ohki followed. She vanishes from sight, leaving the destruction of downtown New York behind.)**


	8. Act 8

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 8Scene 1 – Dark Ayeka

**(Through the streets of Manhattan, a reddish-violet glow shoots from the devastation that was once downtown. A sonic wake follows a lone female figure cloaked in this light, ripping at the asphalt and concrete below her feet. Upon her brow, a tiara of thorns rests, grey in color with a bladed crest glowing a fiery crimson around a black core.)**

**(Her violet tresses whip behind her, as do the tatters of her once pinkish combat attire. Now painted black, this attire has been ripped by claws and blade alike, leaving bloody wounds. Her skin has paled from the sanguine loss, making her more a wraith darting through these streets. Yet, her grey eyes remain focused and clear, mirroring the slight smirk on her lips.)**

**(Once known as Jurai's crown princess, Ayeka Jurai, corrupted by the dark NVO energy, soon reaches Battery Park, the facade that hides the headquarters of the MiB. She pauses for a moment, looking over the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority building, a finger absently tracing the Mark of Rage on her face. The symbol now extends two claws across each cheek and one above her brow.)**

**(The door opens, allowing a small cluster of black-suited agents to exit. Some keep their hands near their jackets, where their blasters are holstered. One elder man steps before the others, his hands placating toward the twisted princess. Ayeka's slate-like gaze slides to him, absently listening as he speaks calmly and carefully to her.)**

**Agent:** Princess Jurai Ayeka, you've been injured. Please lower your hands.

**(Her smirk vanishes as she does lower her hands to her sides. Yet, her eyes leer at him as her mini-guardians suddenly appear around the group of agents. Each wooden cylinder appears with a gong-like sound and is colored as pitch, unlike the usual chime and natural oak-like texture. The Terran men quickly grasp for their weapons, but a scarlet wall of force pulses from the constructs, throwing the men back against the Triborough building. Consciousness is knocked from each of them while she passes them, her feet floating just above the steps.)**

**(Her smile returns as her eyes turn a sadistic gaze toward the door ahead of her. A hand raises at her side, sparking onyx and crimson while she comments, her natural voice blending male overtone.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** The freedom... the power...

**(She faces her palm toward the door as she smiles widely.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** No wonder Ryoko _loved_ it so _much_!

**(Power wells in her hand before it bursts forth, easily blowing through the door and antechamber, and even into the elevator shaft on the far end. Below, the primary complex shakes with the explosion above. Washu and Nerti both pause to steady themselves before the redheaded genius summons her phantom laptop. The displays bring a somber gaze to her face, the data quickly being compared both to Ayeka Jurai and Kagato Jurai. Nerti glances over Washu's shoulder and inquires softly.)**

**Nerti:** … Is she...?

**(With a wave of her hand, the researcher dissipates her terminal and replies coolly.)**

**Washu:** Apparently so. Her power has been tainted just as Kagato's was, perhaps more so.

**(Nerti's fist grips at her side as her feline eyes turn toward the corridor from which they came. However, the minute scientist grabs her sleeve, stopping her impromptu assistant.)**

**Washu:** Think you can reach her?

**(Nerti presses her lips together, frustration and sympathy clear in her expression. Washu's emerald sight rises to meet the former student's, her words calm and collected.)**

**Washu:** You think she'll listen? Would _you_ have?

**(The memory of the jade-eyed control haunts Nerti as she closes her eyes and listens to the professor.)**

**Washu:** Now is not the time to be reactionary, Nerti.

**(The blonde meets the redhead's eyes as she motions back ahead.)**

**Washu:** She's Juraian. Let's see what the other Juraians know.

**(Nerti agrees while the two continue forward soon entering the MiB hangar, where Funaho, Yagami, and Hayato are docked. The structure shakes again from another blow above. Washu summons her terminal and tracks the readings, soon generating a holographic blueprint of the building. A red dot pulses as it darts through the corridors, the diagram changing with each wall and floor destroyed. Nerti watches in silence, frustration evident in her eyes.)**

**(Elsewhere, Dark Ayeka lowers her hand, several MiB agents laying on the ground around her. While these men moan painfully, she lets her feet touch the ground and tread lightly through the broken walls, some segments burning with more black and red fire.)**

**(From his office, Zed watches her progress, her location likewise followed by a monitor showing the structure's floor plan. He traces the path of damage when she finally arrives on the hangar floor. Understanding, he nods and taps a key on his desk panel.)**

**Zed:** X.

**(A man's voice answers.)**

**X:** Yes, sir?

**(Dark Ayeka's location drifts closer to the hangar as he issues his order.)**

**Zed:** Once the target enters the hangar, seal the doors. Use the ethereal shield system prototypes as well. Nothing in or out.

**X:** Confirmed, sir.

**(His eyes narrow at the hangar's placement on the diagram.)**

**Zed:** Worse comes to worse, we can remove the entire section.

**(Aboard the tree-ship Funaho, Yosho and the two knights turn toward Tsunami. Around her, the five keys of Jurai's power float silently. The two staves drift to their masters while the sword Tenchiken nears its former master, the legendary prince. The great woman takes the hairband and tiara keys, one in each hand as she instructs the three men.)**

**Tsunami:** There is not much time. Please take the keys before you.

**(The trio of warriors each grip the items while the lady places the tiara within her robes. Kamidake steps forward, a worry on his lips.)**

**Kamidake:** Then, what of the princess, or of...?

**(His voice trails off as her quiet gaze falls on him, somber and concerned in her own right. The ship shakes as a blast above rocks the entire complex.)**

**Tsunami:** Princess Ayeka... is here, and I will take responsibility for her. Lady Nagi I leave to your care, Sir Kamidake.

**(He blinks dumbly at this appointment while she then turns to Azaka and continues.)**

**Tsunami:** Lady Ryoko I leave to you, Sir Azaka.

**(The azure knight humbly bows toward his goddess as his crimson counterpart soon follows suit and also accepts his assignment.)**

**Tsunami:** Please, guard them both well.

**Azaka & Kamidake:** Of course, my Lady.

**(As they rise, she extends the hairband key to Kamidake. He glances at the key while she adds.)**

**Tsunami:** She will need this, and your guidance.

**(The young knight takes the device in his free hand and nods, certain.)**

**Kamidake:** She will have both, my Lady.

**(She takes a step away her hands rising at her sides. Emerald auras appear around both knights while she explains.)**

**Tsunami:** I will place you aboard Ken-Ohki's bridge. Best of luck, warriors of Jurai.

**(Both nod silently before they vanish in a small burst of greenish light. Yosho then approaches the regal lady and inquires.)**

**Yosho:** Then, how are we to handle Ayeka?

**(With a calming breath, she answers.)**

**Tsunami:** Carefully, Grandfather.

**(An orb of light appears around the pair as they vanish from the ship's bridge. Outside in the hangar itself, the two luminous spheres fly from Funaho and drift down near Washu and Nerti. The two face these while the glow fades, leaving Tsunami and Yosho.)**

**(Washu furrows her brows at the older variation of Sasami, opening another display screen to collect data from her personage. Nerti too takes a step back from the Juraian, confused by her alteration.)**

**Nerti:** … Aren't you...?

**(Tsunami nods, her reply grave.)**

**Tsunami:** I realize I have changed, but other matters are at hand.

**(Washu's detectors on Tsunami sound alarm tones when the bar graph showing her Jurai energy displays "Immeasurable", rather than any pictorial representation. Her green feline eyes rise to meet the rosy color of the Juraian lady's as she adds.)**

**Tsunami:** You can study me all you like once my sister is safe, Dr Washu.

**(The researcher concedes, waving a hand at the scan panel for Tsunami. As it fades away, she glances around to the others containing information regarding Dark Ayeka, specifically her location, corrupted power, and vital signs. Yosho and Nerti both peer at the displays as well.)**

**Yosho:** What's her status now?

**(Washu points to the holographic blueprint, showing a violet dot closing on four other dots, colored black, red, and two blue.)**

**Washu:** She's coming here.

**(She glances to Tsunami and comments.)**

**Washu:** No doubt, for you.

**(Nerti looks at the panel of vital signs, worry in her gaze at the readings: pulse erratic, blood pressure decreasing, body temperature low.)**

**Nerti:** She's not doing too well.

**(Washu nods and agrees.)**

**Washu:** She's still seriously wounded from her encounter with Tokimi. However, something else is pushing her forward, probably the same entity that controlled her in the infirmary.

**(She touches another panel and slides it before herself and her two viewers. Here, Dark Ayeka's energy output is analyzed: 75% Jurai and 25% NVO. Further, an electroencephalogram (EEG) moves, showing three waveforms. The top is strong and vibrant while the second is weaker and subdued. The third shows the two waves added, superimposed upon one another.)**

**Washu:** Look at her power output. Whatever's inside of her is NVO-based and has merged itself into her ethereal aspect. Her EEG is split, two distinct signals. The stronger one is overriding the weaker, likely the Ayeka we know. What we see now is a blend, the stronger entity pulling from her to affect the persona it carries.

**Nerti:** Then, how do we purge this creature without hurting her any more? She's already in a fragile state.

**(Tsunami speaks, drawing their attention.)**

**Tsunami:** I can purge the entity from her, but I require her restrained to do so.

**(Uneasy, Nerti inquires again.)**

**Nerti:** Restrained? She's fairly weak now.

**(Washu ponders this, her eyes flitting through the data before her.)**

**Washu:** Physically, yes, she's about to fall over, if not for what's driving her. However, her Jurai power is still very strong.

**(Her eyes narrow as she starts to type on her terminal.)**

**Washu:** We need to sedate her.

**(Tsunami shakes her head.)**

**Tsunami:** I am sorry, but I need her mind lucid, doctor.

**(Washu 's hands pause for a moment as she taps a finger lightly on a key. Then, she waves her hand across the screen, removing lines of code and entering new ones.)**

**Washu:** Fine, a paralytic. We need her still so she doesn't screw herself up more than she already is.

**Tsunami:** Agreed.

**Yosho:** Then, we need to distract her so Washu can deliver the drug.

**(Tsunami nods and somberly motions to Nerti.)**

**Tsunami:** Indeed, and I fear your current attire will not be sufficient, Ms Nerti.

**(Nerti blinks dumbly as the MiB suit around her shimmers, soon replaced by her white armor and red bodysuit. She looks down at the gauntlets and plate on her before her questioning gaze rises to meet Tsunami's. The Juraian woman lowers her hand, her voice somber.)**

**Tsunami:** She is not unlike you, locked away while someone else controls her body.

**(The blonde glances down at her hands, considering what she saw under Jezibel's influence.)**

**Tsunami:** Please, help her.

**(Nerti nods, closing her hands.)**

**Nerti:** I will.

**(Yosho grips Tenchiken and stands with Nerti, resting a hand on her shoulder.)**

**Yosho:** Fight defensively. I'll draw her attention. When you have an opportunity, take her arms and hold her.

**(Nerti nods, taking a breath to settle her nerves.)**

**Nerti:** Alright.

**(A rumble from the entry door grabs the attention of the four when Tsunami waves her hand, a spherical barrier appearing around the group. The door, and a large section of the wall, shatters and ricochets off the defensive perimeter. Dark Ayeka steps through the falling debris and dust, her smile unabated as she glances at those assembled before her.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Ah... my dear "_little_ sister"...

**(Tsunami gazes back at the twisted variation of the elder princess, conflict evident enough in her rosy eyes. Yosho's sight darts between the two, listening as does Washu's. Nerti watches the darkened princess, her sympathy most apparent.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** My Lady sends her deepest regrets. She is occupied with her children at present.

**(With a sad eye, the azure-haired lady sighs.)**

**Tsunami:** … Ayeka...

**Dark Ayeka:** I will have to do for now.

**(Around the barrier, the black mini-guardians appear and press into Tsunami's barrier, scarlet and azure sparks springing from the points of contact. Tsunami closes her eyes and takes a calming breath. Her whisper then rises to those with her.)**

**Tsunami:** Please help her...

**(With a slight motion of her hand, Yosho and Nerti vanish from the protection of the barrier and reappear behind Dark Ayeka. Immediately, the legendary prince arms Tenchiken, though Nerti hesitates, surprised by the sudden displacement. The black Juraian turns toward them, her eyes narrowed.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Two on one? Hardly sporting.

**(Yosho answers as he steps into a proper defensive stance from kendo.)**

**Yosho:** This from one who hides behind an innocent girl's face.

**(She glances toward Nerti, who quickly focuses on the dark princess.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Do you remember Seia, when you and I fought her on Jurai, my dear Prince Yosho?

**(A chill rushes through Yosho's back while the blonde takes a defensive posture, uneasy in Dark Ayeka's grey gaze.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** I know this one knew her well, all the taunts and sadism she embodied.

**(An emerald flash crosses Nerti's eyes while an ill feeling passes through her body. She recalls the diminutive figure of Seia, cloaked in black with her pale white complexion, not unlike Dark Ayeka now. She shakes away the feeling and the green glow in her eyes while Dark Ayeka approaches with a slow step.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Shall I show young Nerti Ro how I took the life from her, how I dissolved her body into a pool of dismal liquid?

**(Yosho calls to Nerti as he rushes toward the princess, sword drawn to his side.)**

**Yosho:** _Run_!

**(Nerti spins on her heels when several mini-guardians appear around her. She darts away when they close on her former location, missing the strands of her vixen's tail of hair. Dark Ayeka scoffs as she turns toward the blue blade. Her hand raises toward him, black and red streams gathering into her grasp.)**

**(These powers burst forward, but Yosho rolls aside, allowing the bolt to smash into the floor. Regaining his feet, the legendary warrior slides ahead, covering the remaining distance to Dark Ayeka. However, a barrier appears around her and quickly expands. Instinctively, he raises the sword to meet this barrier. The crest of his key glows a bold violet as his own white orb surrounds him, grinding against hers.)**

**(The princess glances toward him, commenting.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Do you really believe you will cut me? Even if you had the opportunity, you could not harm me, one vying for your grandson's affection.

**(Yosho sternly glares back at her while she slides her eyes to Nerti, running from the mini-guardians. With a short breath, the blonde extends her arm, the grip of her scythe popping free into her hand. Immediately, the device elongates into the full pole, the sharp blade arcing out from one of the two ends. Drawing the pole close, she turns on her toe, shifting her run into a spin. The blade cleaves through the cylindrical constructs skillfully as she slides forward, striking several more with a pair of quick swipes.**

**(She pauses, looking up incredulously at Dark Ayeka and Yosho, more surprised at her own actions. The twisted princess narrows her eyes, commenting.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** What a nuisance.

**(The crest of her tiara of thorns burns a deep crimson as several mini-guardians appear around Yosho's barrier and press into it, bowing its curvature. He lowers his stance and grips the sword key tightly, retaining his defense while his opponent shifts her attention to the blonde.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Peasant girl.

**(She draws back her hand and waves it wide toward Nerti, much like a slap. However, in the wake of her arm's motion, a wave of black power flies at the Pentinon native. Her grey eyes widen as she rolls aside, the crescent-like pulse smashing into a docking station across the hangar.)**

**(While Nerti rises to her feet again, Yosho arcs Tenchiken's blade upward into one of Dark Ayeka's mini-guardians, slicing it in twain. He quickly circles his position, destroying each construct in succession until they all fall to the ground as splinters.)**

**(Dark Ayeka frowns angrily as she likewise slaps toward him, another obsidian wave flying at him. Unlike Nerti, Yosho slices through the blast, its halves flying to either side of the great man.)**

**(Black mini-guardians once again appear around him while Nerti rushes toward the black princess, her scythe's pole along her arm. However, with her eyes focused on Dark Ayeka, she does not notice her feet leave the ground and coast over the floor. Washu and Tsunami both note this from a distance away, the researcher in particular making record with her phantom laptop.)**

**(Yosho rolls aside and quickly eliminates the small threats around him as Dark Ayeka turns a hand toward Nerti, a barrier appearing around the blonde woman. Nerti halts inside, her grey eyes blinking with a sudden familiarity with the ethereal bubble around her. The princess coldly speaks, the threat clear.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** Just like on Liaens's vessel, Nerti Ro. _Writhe_.

**(A fear shoots through Nerti's eyes as Dark Ayeka's hand closes, igniting a storm of crimson bolts from the field around the blonde down upon her. Nerti raises her scythe and turns away, causing a small barrier to appear around her within Dark Ayeka's, black in color. The red lightning strikes this first and mostly dissipates, but a portion does pass through the meager defense and reach the blonde woman.)**

**(Dark Ayeka smiles to herself as Nerti slides to her knees, holding her pained cries within herself. However, Yosho stands behind the princess and speaks apologetically.)**

**Yosho:** Please forgive me, Ayeka.

**(She glances back at him when Tenchiken's pommel strikes her jaw, breaking her concentration. The attack on Nerti and the barrier around her fades, allowing her a sigh of relief. She breathes deeply, catching herself on her hands while the black field around her also vanishes.)**

**(Dark Ayeka recoils from the hit, collapsing on the ground and holding her face in utter surprise. However, this quickly melts into rage as she turns her burning gaze up toward him.)**

**Dark Ayeka:** You _struck_ me!

**(Yosho stands firm when a dart shoots across the hangar and punctures her neck. She grasps at the projectile while Tsunami releases the defense around herself and Washu. The researcher coolly comments as the blue-haired Juraian approaches slowly.)**

**Washu:** Paralyss, probably the strongest paralytic I have currently devised.

**(Yosho steps away, letting Tenchiken's azure blade fade as Dark Ayeka tries to push herself up. Yet, her arms collapse under her, causing her to land on her back. She struggles as the effects of the drug consume her already exhausted body.)**

**Washu:** It's derived from the venom of a dromopod native to Sirius VII, which in its native form is a powerful neurotoxin.

**(Nerti pushes a few locks of hair away from her face, smudged with a few light scorches from the skirmish. She carefully watches as Tsunami kneels with Dark Ayeka, the latter's struggling passing into a limp indifference.)**

**Washu:** However, I distilled the paralytic properties from the chemical makeup, removing the toxic aspects.

**(Sadly, Tsunami rests her hand gently on her sister's cheek, feeling the chill of her cold, pale skin. Her other hand carefully grasps the thorn-encrusted tiara and removes it from the princess's brow, leaving her forehead bare. Leaning over her, Tsunami whispers softly.)**

**Tsunami:** … You're not alone, sister...

**(Washu, Yosho, and Nerti watch while Tsunami gently touches her forehead to Dark Ayeka's, the emblem on the former's forehead shimmering a brilliant emerald.)**

**(Elsewhere, meadows of flowers stretch into the distant hills of Jurai, the palace seen rising in the distance. Overhead, dark clouds block out any ambient light, leaving the field ominously dark and still. Here, Tsunami's feet tread softly as she speaks, her tone solemn and somber.)**

**Tsunami:** For over a year, my sister, you have fought this presence within you.

**(Soon, her feet crunch along the burnt remains of several flowers, scorched to ash by a hot blaze. Tsunami's eyes pass over this destruction, her voice tinted with her concern and care for Ayeka.)**

**Tsunami:** I saw your pain from a distance, wanting so much to interfere and save you this pain.

**(She stops and takes a slow breath, sighing guiltily as she continues with a shake of her head.)**

**Tsunami:** But, I did not have the power and dared not try.

**(Her rosy gaze falls upon a violet crystal rising from the destroyed soil, a great bladed cross. Her eyes scan up its grandeur as horror fills her eyes, her hand rising to her mouth.)**

**Tsunami:** … Oh, Ayeka...

**(There, Ayeka hangs from the arms of the structure, crucified. Dressed in her pinkish combat attire, she bears all her wounds from her encounter with Ryoshu-Tokimi, her brow stripped of the tiara key. Tears in her eyes, Tsunami reaches up toward her sister when another voice calls to her from behind, the entity holding the princess captive.)**

**Dark Entity:** Leave her.

**(The Juraian lady pauses and glances over her shoulder. There, a black fire bursts from the ground, quickly forming into a humanoid shape. Tsunami turns to face this figure as its form soon solidifies more, masculine and young.)**

**(The ends of its arms spawn clawed gloves of porcelain, extending up along its forearms like gauntlets. It advances a step, its foot spawning a similar white boot of a similar material. Another step materializes a matching garment on the other appendage. Coldly, Tsunami narrows her gaze as she names the creature.)**

**Tsunami:** Kain...

**(This being shakes his head, black flames much like hair tossed aside as a mask appears over its nonexistent face. Three obsidian eyes gaze back at her as his porcelain lips grin, motionless as he speaks.)**

**Kain?:** The second, "Aunt" Sasami.

**(He raises his claws and gazes at them distantly as he flexes them, feeling the ease of movement.)**

**Kain II:** Surely, you remember my predecessor, the Super-A class criminal.

**(She nods silently as he steps around her and Ayeka, eying them distantly.)**

**Kain II:** You also know of my successor, "Kain III", though not directly by name. He was fused into the Grenhaus Integrator of a particular gynoid... "Mecha-Nerti", I believe her name was.

**Tsunami:** Why are you here?

**(He stops opposite Tsunami before the crystalline cross, the grin shifting to a humored smirk.)**

**Kain II:** To be quite honest, I was not meant to be fused with Jurai Ayeka. I was created to aid Ryua Shinya with a particular problem, his niece, Ryua Ryoko. For that purpose, I was temporarily bonded to the chimera creature Illirg.

**(He scoffs.)**

**Kain II:** Unfortunately, the beast had terrible aim.

**(A fury rages within the eyes of the Juraian woman as she answers him.)**

**Tsunami:** You have tormented my sister.

**(His smirk widens into a full, broad smile as his trio of eyes narrow at her.)**

**Kain II:** It was not difficult.

**(He glances up toward Ayeka, commenting.)**

**Kain II:** The venomous jealousy... the unappreciated affection... the self-conscious loathing...

**(His eyes then slide back to Tsunami.)**

**Kain II:** The fractured _memories_...

**(Her fingers curl tightly as she inquires hotly.)**

**Tsunami:** _Why_?

**(His smile fades into a cool scowl as he retorts.)**

**Kain II:** You know full well why, "Sasami". You hide behind that mortal shell, but I know full well who and what you are.

**(Above them, Ayeka's true amethyst eyes open weakly, her vision blurred and pain consuming her flesh.)**

**Kain II:** And, you know full well who my Lady is, and her purpose.

**(Tsunami's eyes lower, a second sadness evident in them at Kain II's words. His claws turn to her as he grins to himself.)**

**Kain II:** … and my purpose as well.

**(Ayeka's eyes widen as her vision clears. She struggles against the bindings at her hands and feet while scarlet sparks rise from the entity's talons. Tsunami nods somberly as she takes a knee before him, her eyes closing.)**

**Tsunami:** I do. I am sorry, so sorry.

**(He grins, stepping closer as his energies coalesce into an orb aimed at her head. Ayeka desperately tears at her bonds, watching this scene developing before her.)**

**Kain II:** Save your apologies. Jurai's time is over.

**(Ayeka's eyes close tightly as she strains, the air burning in her lungs.)**

**Kain II:** The Light will die, and the Darkness will reign once more.

**(The princess's voice then screams out, echoing across the plains surrounding them.)**

**Ayeka:** _NO_!!

**(Kain II's eyes widen as he slowly turns his attention upward to Ayeka, anger and rage clear in her gaze. Stillness hangs for a moment while Tsunami speaks softly.)**

**Tsunami:** Awaken at last, Princess Jurai Ayeka, daughter of Jurai.

**(An azure light bursts outward from Ayeka as she is enveloped within it. Tsunami remains still while Kain II recoils in pain, screaming and hiding from the brightness. Ayeka's eyes close, and her head rolls back, the light around her burning away her bonds and freeing her. Similarly, the ties around her great tails of hair are scorched away.)**

**(However, as her hair fans around her as a great bride's train, its color brightens, matching the flowing azure power that envelopes her. Further, its texture softens and curls around her face, making her appear much more like Sasami, and her older persona, Tsunami. The Juraian woman sighs, her eyes opening their natural amethyst color while her younger sister comments.)**

**Tsunami:** As your power grew, so did hers.

**(She turns her gaze down toward Kain II as he forces himself to face her, his teeth bared and clenched. He summons a black broadsword to his hand while she scowls back at him.)**

**Tsunami:** As you tortured cruelly, she endured nobly. I am sorry, so sorry, Kain.

**(Ayeka's hands rise before her as the blue power around her gathers into her grasp. Kain II roars as he leaps toward the princess, sword drawn to strike.)**

**Kain II:** You are _mine_, Juraian! You will _always_ be _mine_!

**(Brilliant blue light leaves Ayeka's hands and smashes through Kain II's body and sword, rendering it merely purple ash. However, his head and right arm survive, falling to the scorched soil below. Likewise, the elder princess's eyes close weakly as the power around her fades. She falls from the air and is promptly caught by Tsunami's warm embrace. Gently, the latter eases the former to the ground, careful to mind her injuries.)**

**(A shuffle draws Tsunami's attention from her charge. There, she sees Kain II's claws dragging him toward the pair of Juraians. Coldly, she waves her hand toward him, and in a short flash of white light, he vanishes completely from this scene.)**

**(She returns her worried attention to Ayeka, gently setting her hand along the wounded woman's cheek. Ayeka's words rise weakly, exhaustion and fatigue clear.)**

**Ayeka:** Sasami...?

**(Tsunami nods, taking her sister's hand.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm here, Ayeka...

**(Ayeka's eyes open slightly, peering up confusedly.)**

**Ayeka:** … You're... older...

**(A tear slides along Tsunami's cheek as she affirms this as well. Ayeka tries to rise, but she winces, Tsunami easing her down again.)**

**Tsunami:** Please... rest, sister...

**(She leans over Ayeka, whispering.)**

**Tsunami:** It's over, Ayeka... The nightmare is over...

**(Touching her forehead to her sister's, Tsunami's emblem glows brightly again, enveloping them both.)**

**(Within the hangar of MiB headquarters, the light fades from Tsunami's emblem as she rises from Ayeka. The combat uniform around the violet-tressed princess fades away to her torn and tattered kimono. Likewise, the Mark of Rage vanishes from her cut and pale face. Tsunami gently passes a hand over Ayeka's hair, smoothing it as it pulses azure for a very brief moment.)**

**(Washu kneels with Tsunami, and the Juraian yields to the scientist as she checks Ayeka's condition. Nerti watches, amazed at the transpired events, while Yosho's attention remains on the tiara of thorns held in Tsunami's left hand.)**

Scene 2 – Second Awakening

**(Over the devastated cityscape of New York, a single sleek vessel shoots down from the sky. Will Pii's Caroki roars down from the sky, soon adjusting its flight path to coast over the downtown area. There, the ship's external searchlights shine onto the rubble that were two famous towers, now tombs for Ayeka Jurai's Ryu-Oh and the Grey saucer refitted by the MiB.)**

**(Aboard, Pii pans his visored eyes over the screens before him. The HUD in his eyepiece details other information, specifically NVO and Jurai power ambient in the immediate vicinity:**

Ambient Power

Juraian: 33.0 E+03 W

Ryoan: 64.5 E+03 W

NVO: 200. E+00 W

Kinetic: 2.00 E+03 W

Thermal: 750 E+00 W

**Eying this, Pii flips a toggle switch, changing his primary display to grey hues. In the upper right, the following text appears: "Kinetic Motion Output". Now, only the occasional falling rock fades into view when it moves. However, more importantly, he catches a glimpse of two human figures moving within the rubble of one of the towers.)**

**(The hunter grins to himself as he taps a few commands into the console at his side. One of his displays is replaced by a garbled screen of static, joined with an intermittent white noise. He speaks clearly, some relief in his voice.)**

**Pii:** J, K. You guys hear me?

**(The figures stop fade slightly as their motion decreases. Both turn their heads, showing the motion brightly on Pii's screen shortly before a reply is heard over the speakers, though masked with some interference.)**

**J:** Pii? That you out there?

**Pii:** Yeah, it's me. Looks like you two survived the fall.

**(A scoff rises from J as he answers.)**

**J:** Yeah, no thanks to that Tokimi bitch. You guys take care of her?

**(Pii shakes his head.)**

**Pii:** I don't think so. She 'ported me into lunar orbit after she disabled Ryu-Oh and you guys. I just got back, and by the looks of things...

**(He glances at the other screens, each showing a section of the damage below.)**

**Pii:** … it didn't go too well for our side.

**(A worry enters J's voice.)**

**J:** How's the princess?

**(Pii sighs shaking his head.)**

**Pii:** Her ship's buried like yours, but I've heard some chatter from your HQ. She flipped completely. They're working on containing her in the hangar.

**(Sarcastically, the agent answers.)**

**J:** Great... What about the cranky sisters?

**(Pii nods, glancing briefly to a map screen of the Atlantic with a red marker chased by a black one.)**

**Pii:** I have a vector on a Ryoan power source running far and fast over the Atlantic, with an NVO signature right on their ass.

**J:** Sounds like their "mom" wants to have another word.

**Pii:** Yeah, it does. What's your flight status? You've got about a few tons of concrete sitting on top of you.

**J:** We're dead in the water. The kid just got the comms up again, and it's getting stuffy in here.

**(Pii scowls, a gravity in his voice.)**

**Pii:** The air recycler was probably totaled. You probably don't have much oxygen left.

**J:** Can you get us out?

**(Pii takes a breath and nods, his hands sliding to the navigation and weapon controls of his fighter.)**

**Pii:** Yeah, I can blow the rubble off of your hull and cut open the hatch. It'll take time.

**(Impatience melts into J's voice.)**

**J:** Well, let's do it. I'm not exactly in the mood to suffocate in a tin can.

**Pii:** Understood. Hang on. This is going to be a bit rough.

**(Outside, Caroki comes to bear on the rubble below when its beam weapons narrow, focusing their lenses before bursting rays of light into the wreckage.)**

**(Over the Atlantic Ocean, Ken-Ohki races fast over the open water. Aboard, Ryoko kneels with Nagi, who bears several burns and scorches from the crimson cables of Ryoshu-Tokimi across her clothes and skin. The huntress winces, her breathing deep and slow as she wills the pain to the back of her mind.)**

**(Ryoko looks over her half-sister's wounds, recalling those suffered by Tenchi in much a similar manner. Ryo-Ohki hops close and mews sadly as do Ken-Ohki's rhomboid gems around them. Carefully, the cyan-haired woman rests her hand on Nagi's shoulder, which is free of injury, and worriedly states.)**

**Ryoko:** You need a doctor, sis.

**(Nagi nods slowly.)**

**Nagi:** … I know... I wanted to put some distance between us and her...

**(She raises her eyes to look over the waves displayed below them. Her hands grip the hilts of her rapier and whip as she pushes herself up to her feet, breathing heavily through her teeth. Ryoko also rises, watching her sibling carefully as she adds softly and gravely.)**

**Ryoko:** … She's _not_ Mom, Nagi...

**(Nagi's glare slides to the former pirate while she clarifies, her worried gaze meeting those of her old nemesis.)**

**Ryoko:** You hesitated.

**(Her brows furrow as some of her anger at Tokimi bleeds into her voice.)**

**Ryoko:** _None_ of that was _her_. _None_!

**(The huntress's crimson eyes narrow as she icily answers, her own fury in that fiery gaze.)**

**Nagi:** I _won't_ again.

**(Then, an ache pangs Nagi's head as she frowns and steps aside. Ryoko blinks and quickly inquires.)**

**Ryoko:** What's wrong?

**(Shaking her head, the huntress answers.)**

**Nagi:** I don't...

**(She drops her sword and whip as her hands open, light brimming around each. Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki watch as a red power pools in Nagi's left hand, much like Ryoko has done numerous times. Hissing through her teeth, Nagi grips her right hand, an emerald glow around her fist.)**

**(Confusion and concern race through Ryoko's expression while the two cabbits mew worriedly themselves. The Ryoan woman inquires, grasping from her own knowledge.)**

**Ryoko:** What the hell are you doing? That's Ryoan power... but...

**(She looks from Nagi's left hand to her right, recognizing the emerald power.)**

**Ryoko:** That's the Juraian power you used before...

**(Nagi grunts as she falls down to one knee, the experience ripping at her will.)**

**Nagi:** … I _don't_ know...! It's _tearing_... inside... _everywhere_...!

**(Ryoko reaches for her sister when a spark of both crimson and emerald shock her hand, causing her to recoil back. She holds her palm, watching while Ken-Ohki's gemstones encircle Nagi. He mews worriedly as more bolts arc along her frame between the polar powers in her hands. He creates a barrier around her, encasing the dueling energies while Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki observe helplessly.)**

**(The former pirate grips her fist tight watching Nagi struggle between the two lights emanating from her. However, a familiar voice quickly steals her attention, that of Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I hoped to save her from this.

**(Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki spin to find Ryoshu-Tokimi standing aboard Ken-Ohki's bridge, her cheek burned from the recent exchange with Ayeka. Her blue/red eyes express a distant sadness gazing upon Nagi, though her regal stature remains unfazed.)**

**(Yet, hate and rage consume Ryoko as she rushes between the dark being and her half-sister. Similarly, Ryo-Ohki hops forward, hissing and growling at the arrival. The former pirate does not hesitate to make demands of the vision of her mother.)**

**Ryoko:** _What did you do to her, you bitch_?!

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi closes her eyes and turns her head aside as she answers, a somberness on her words.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I gave birth to her.

**(Nagi glances aside and listens while the Ryoan explains.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Her father was of Juraian noble blood. I was Ryoan by birth. Just as you, my elder daughter, inherited your abilities, so too has she, from both me and her father.

**(Another wave of power flows through her as her mother's voice continues, blended with a celestial chorus.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She awoke to her Juraian heritage recently, and now, she is starting to awaken to the other side of her blood.

**(Coldly, Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes meet Ryoko's.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** They are opposites, never meant to coexist. They war within her body.

**(With a soft sigh, the Ryoan woman glances down.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I have no domain over Jurai, but I do over Ryua. Like with you, I hoped to remove that part of her birthright, making her purely a Juraian in power if not in blood. That would have spared her this agony.

**(Ryoko bares her teeth and barks at the figure before her.)**

**Ryoko:** Then do it _now_!

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi shakes her head, answering.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I cannot. When I tried, her Juraian aspect denied me. They are intimately woven, and I alone cannot separate them. It is possible my attempt, as well-meaning as it was, caused this awakening.

**(The powers flare wildly around Nagi as she slips to her knees, her hands gasping the floor. Ryoko looks back, hate and affection swirling within her heart and mind. Heatedly, she turns back to Ryoshu-Tokimi and spits her words spitefully.)**

**Ryoko:** _You fucking bitch_!!

**(She charges toward the Ryoan woman, her fists gripped tightly and tears rolling down her cheeks. She draws back to swing a punch when Ryoshu-Tokimi merely waves her hand and effortlessly knocks Ryoko aside with a force wall. The former pirate lands on the deck, quickly pushing herself up to face her adversary again. Ryoko screams at the dark woman, her rage palpable in her words.)**

**Ryoko:** You nearly _killed Tenchi_! You _twisted Ayeka_! And now, you're _torturing Nagi_!!

**(She slides her feet under her as she quickly rises again. However, a crimson barrier appears around her while Ryoshu-Tokimi approaches Nagi. Ryo-Ohki continues to growl and hiss, but backs away, knowing not to engage after her previous encounter. The mature Ryoan woman shakes her head and kneels outside the shield around the huntress.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I do not expect you to understand this, Ryoko.

**(Somberly, she closes her eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You have rejected me time and again. I took your powers as punishment, hoping you would come to understand.

**(Ryoko pounds her fists on the barrier around her, frustration and anger flowing through each strike while Ryoshu-Tokimi extends her hand and attention to Nagi.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I was honest when I said that I hardly desire to see either of you in pain.

**(The huntress's eyes raise to meet those of her mother's image, the strain of the two powers warring within her showing plainly on her face. Gently, the Ryoan speaks as a Light Hawk Wing cracks open over her hand.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** And, there is another way to end your pain, my daughter.

**(Gripping her taloned hand around the wing, it molds itself to another Juraian-like key. Grey in color like the tiara of thorns, this dark hairband is composed of multiple vines twisting together tightly. Briers rise from its exterior, mimicking the bladed, violet crest embedded in one of its arms. She extends this newly created device toward Nagi.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Accept my gift, a device capable of restraining the errant Juraian energy within you. Then, you can be my child as you were meant to be.

**(A gentleness enters her expression as she adds.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** As I longed for you to be.

**(Pained, a desperation appears in Nagi's eyes while she glances between Ryoshu-Tokimi's face, her mother's face, and the brier hairband offered to her. Carefully, she extends her left hand toward the barrier around her, toward the dark key as the Ryoan power flares around her palm. Ryoko screams and pounds on the perimeter holding her, calling for her half-sister to stop.)**

**(Across the deck, two green figures appear, drawing Ryoshu-Tokimi's attention away from Nagi. There, the two knights of Jurai, Azaka and Kamidake, emerge from Tsunami's quiet power, both armed with their staff keys. The dark woman glares coldly at the pair while Ryoko and Nagi both blink in surprise at their arrival.)**

**(Kamidake's eyes widen at the wild energies flowing through Nagi, causing him to raise his staff and start forward. Yet, Azaka, quickly grabs his partner's shoulder, holding the young man while he calls out to the huntress.)**

**Kamidake:** _Nagi_!!

**(Her gaze pleads silently back toward him before another pulse of conflicting power races through her. The crimson knight's glare turns toward Ryoshu-Tokimi, joining his azure ally's as the dark woman rises to face the pair. Coldly, she addresses the two.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** The favored warriors of the first Jurai king.

**(Her eyes then center specifically on Kamidake, recognizing the blend of emotions in his face.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Rage... with a hint of... love, I dare say?

**Kamidake:** What are you doing to _her_?!

**(She shakes her head, correcting him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** This is not of my design, Juraian knight, not directly. This is the result of being born of mixed blood.

**(Calmly, Azaka glances to Ryoko and back to the powerful entity holding her.)**

**Azaka:** The Matron of Ryua, I presume.

**(The crimson and azure in her eyes burn deeply as she answers.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Indeed, Juraian, the very same whose warriors you helped slay millennia ago.

**Azaka:** Our Lady has charged us with these two women. I ask that we be allowed to follow her edict.

**(The dark woman's answer smolders on her breath as her eyes narrow at the respectful man.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** They are my children, knight. They are subject to my edicts, not those of my sister.

**(Surprise furrows Azaka's brow.)**

**Azaka:** "Sister"?

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi grins to herself while Ryoko slams her fist into the barrier around her, grabbing the blue knight's attention.)**

**Ryoko:** _Don't_ listen to her! Get us out of here!

**(Azaka takes a slow breath, settling himself as he squeezes Kamidake's shoulder. The younger man nods, listening while his partner speaks once again.)**

**Azaka:** Lady goddess of Ryua, we have our orders, and these women deny your word.

**(Coldly, she closes her eyes and responds.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** A pity, noble knight.

**(She waves her hand to her side, causing Ryo-Ohki to meow and change to her crystalline aspect. Similarly, Ken-Ohki's gems release their barrier around Nagi as the white creature meows at Ryoshu-Tokimi's order.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Conduits, eliminate the Juraians.

**(Azaka takes his staff in his hands while the two men stand ready. However, the gems hold their positions. The dark woman glances toward them, impatience evident in her gaze.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You are instruments of my power. Remove them from my sight.

**(Below the gemstones, images of the humanoid forms for Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki appear, both glaring at the Ryoan figurehead. Each strains, mimicking the vibration of their respective crystal in refusal of her command.)**

**(With a pat to Kamidake's shoulder, Azaka darts toward Ryoko while the younger knight races toward Nagi. Ryoshu-Tokimi scowls as she extends her hand, Kagato's dark sword key appearing and extending its black and red blade. Drawing the sword before her, she twists its hilt, causing the blade to shatter into several small segments. With a swipe, these are sent toward Kamidake while she vanishes.)**

**(The crimson knight glances up as the small blades approach. The young man slides side to side swiftly, his form blurring from the speed. However, the weapons strike the deck below him, spurring Ken-Ohki's pained mew. Then, the blades rise back upward at the knight. Though he does roll aside, several of these cut into his right leg.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi reappears standing before Azaka, forcing him to halt and take a defensive posture. The black blade returns to Kagato's sword as she lowers it at her side, focusing on the azure knight.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You are a good soldier, Juraiko Azaka, as well as once husband and father.

**(Azaka's brows furrow as she continues.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She is my child, Juraian, not yours nor my sister's.

**(Ryoko yells from behind her mother's form.)**

**Ryoko:** I am _not_ your kid, _bitch_!

**(With a sigh, the entity inquires of the azure knight again.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** A disobedient child, to be sure, but my child nonetheless. This is not your battle.

**(Azaka shakes his head, the headpiece of his staff glowing with a blue light as it rotates.)**

**Azaka:** My Lady disagrees, as do I.

**(With a swipe of her weapon, a wave of darkness flies at the azure knight. The man shifts his weight forward, holding his staff before him. Yet, the black pulse wraps around a spherical shell protecting him. He holds his ground, lowering his stance as his strength pooling into his weapon.)**

**(Once the wave passes, the Juraian man directs his staff toward the shield behind his enemy. A powerful blue blast issues forth and smashes into the barrier around Ryoko. Ryoshu-Tokimi spins around, noting the cracks in the shield when Ryoko's fist punches through the structure and across the jaw of her mother's image.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi recoils while the barrier drops, freeing the young woman. Ryoko glares at the dark woman as she slides forward with a second punch. Yet, Ryoshu-Tokimi grabs her wrist, deflecting the strike. Ryoko's knee arcs up toward her opponent's abdomen, but the elder Ryoan releases her and slips away, her eyes firmly set on her child.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You make the same mistakes she...

**(She pauses, correcting herself.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … _I_ made, my daughter.

**(Ryoko glares back into the glowing light of her mother's gaze.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm _not_ your _daughter_!

**(She punches again, but the dark lady steps quickly aside to avoid. However, Ryoko's eyes widen before she rolls aside. Ryoshu-Tokimi then looks back to see Azaka's staff directed at her with a bright blue charge. When the energy bursts forth, she raises her dark sword, its edge burning a brighter crimson. The blast wave divides over its flaming edge, bypassing Ryoshu-Tokimi and burning into Ken-Ohki's display screens. The white cabbit mews in pain as his humanoid projection covers his eyes. Ryo-Ohki cries out, still immobile as she watches. Yet, the dark woman's eyes narrow into a glare at the azure knight.)**

**(With Kamidake, the young knight winces as he steps carefully toward Nagi, his leg lacerated. She looks up to him, the two powers waging their battle across her body. Errant sparks leap at him, but he holds his crimson staff close before him, its shield protecting him from harm. He kneels with her and draws her original hairband key from his gi. He extends it to her right hand where Jurai's power flares a bright emerald. He speaks softly, consoling her.)**

**Kamidake:** Remember what we practiced. Remember the peace.

**(She shakes her head, another wave of conflict ripping through her.)**

**Nagi:** … It's too much...

**(His eyes meet hers as he continues.)**

**Kamidake:** Believe me.

**(Carefully, her hand rests on the key and grasps it while his cups hers. With a slow breath, she closes her eyes, feeling the burning sensations in her hands and the ripping through her chest.)**

**Kamidake:** Use your breath, not your will.

**(She breathes deeply, still wracked by periodic shots of pain. Soon, the lights in her hands dim as does the waves of conflicting power sparking in and around her. Kamidake nods as he watches.)**

**Kamidake:** Both are part of you, since you were born.

**(Her eyes open and meet his, the hairband key wrapping once again around her right hand. The emerald power flows from her hand into the key, causing its crest to shimmer a gentle violet.)**

**Kamidake:** Calm them, and give them direction.

**(One more breath squelches the dueling forces within her, leaving the huntress winded. The glows within her key and left hand remain, though subdued and controlled. The knight smiles warmly and rests a hand on her shoulder while her breath returns to her. Her right hand rests on his arm as she nods to him, silently thanking him.)**

**(However, a concussion behind them draws their attention to Azaka landing hard against Ken-Ohki's deck. The azure knight pushes himself up to a knee while Ryoshu-Tokimi scowls at him, her blade flaring a crimson fire from its edge. Ryoko rushes forward and punches at the enemy, but her fist ricochets off a barrier around Ryoshu-Tokimi. Quickly, the dark woman slaps her daughter, sending the young woman to the ground.)**

**(Ryoko glares back as she rises and thrusts her fist again. However, Ryoshu-Tokimi slides her eyes aside and fades away, leaving her daughter's fist only empty air. Kamidake stands, staff at the ready, when the dark woman reappears before him. Her taloned glove suddenly wraps around his throat and rises him from his feet. Her red and blue eyes glare hotly at him while her words smolder at the young Juraian knight.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** The daughters of Ryua are _not_ for you, _boy_.

**(Both Nagi and Azaka rise to their feet while Kamidake thrusts his staff's pole into Ryoshu-Tokimi's abdomen. She hardly reacts until the headpiece spins, gathering his ruby power into the weapon. The contact point sears into the dark woman's side, causing her to visibly wince. With his uninjured leg, the young knight kicks that point, spurring her to release him.)**

**(Kamidake coughs, clearing his throat, which now carries cuts from her claws. Nagi steps between him and Ryoshu-Tokimi, her violet blade appearing from the crest of her key. She raises it toward the image of her mother, who is taken aback by this.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Nagi... child...

**(Fury in her voice, Nagi recounts Ryoko's words.)**

**Nagi:** I'm _not_ your _daughter_, Tokimi.

**(The maternal figure closes her eyes, taking a slow breath. Kamidake rises at the huntress's side, his staff held ready while Azaka quickly rejoins Ryoko's, likewise attentive to the enemy. Quietly, Ryoshu-Tokimi answers, a shake to her grand visage.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She... _I_ gave you life... power... Ryoko was always rebellious... but _you_...

**(Her fist grips the hilt of Kagato's sword, her breath slipping between her teeth.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I will not abide this disrespect...

**(Her eyes open, their glowing coloration bright and furious with her glare at Nagi.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … not from _either_ of you!

**(With a motion, she swipes her blade at the deck before Kamidake, the dark wave cutting into the crystalline surface as it advances on him. He quickly nudges Nagi aside with a swift apology, his barrier rising to protect them both.)**

**(Azaka rushes forward, his staff's power gathering, but Ryoshu-Tokimi spins toward him. In a single motion, her free hand draws the brier hairband from her gown and tosses it at the azure knight. He stops and raises his weapon to defend, but the dark key slices through the transparent shield around him and wraps around his right hand, locking it to the staff.)**

**(A shock of crimson power coasts over him, forcing the stoic man to wince and take a knee. The ethereal structure protecting him fades to grey and falls to ash around him while his staff key falls silent, the dark key interfering with his synchronization. Ryoko rushes to his side while Ryoshu-Tokimi shifts her attention to the younger knight and Nagi.)**

**(Heatedly, she advances on the pair, her footsteps slow and methodical like her words.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I can see into you, my daughter. I can see how you despise the Ryoan side of yourself. You, flesh of this flesh, descended from my Chosen, deny my gifts and my counsel.

**(Nagi retorts immediately, her own crimson glare aimed at the enemy's eyes.)**

**Nagi:** Your "gift" and "counsel" amount to denial of my father and all that he is. I will _never_ do that!

**(The huntress slides forward, swiping her Juraian blade toward Ryoshu-Tokimi's abdomen, the same place Kamidake burned. However, the dark woman strikes Kagato's dark sword to block. When the two weapons contact, a burst of azure and crimson sparks fly from the contact. Then, the violet blade cracks and shakes in Nagi's hand soon shattering into several filaments.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi's follow-through misses Nagi, but the huntress still shuffles back, glancing at the broken energy blade. A blur of red shoots forward as Kamidake knocks the dark sword away and aims the headpiece of his staff at Ryoshu-Tokimi's scorched cheek.)**

**(A scowl twists her beautiful brow as her free talons grab the staff and push it aside, the forthcoming blast missing her completely. The staff sears her glove when he thrusts the opposing end of the staff into her abdomen, a ruby aura enveloping the key to burn her side further.)**

**(She releases as he holds the weapon close, a shield appearing around him. This barrier splinters into sharp blades that then rocket forward at his target. The dark woman reverses her grip on the sword and swipes wide, a black crescent flying forth to counter the coming Juraian blades.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi's feet lift from the ground as she darts at Kamidake, her blade cutting the air toward him. He quickly raises his staff to block, the dark blade grinding against a crimson glow on his staff. Her eyes meet his as she whispers to him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** And, I can see into you, Juraian: how you divert her, woo her... much like her _father_...

**(He retorts, forcing back the pain from his earlier leg wound as he resists her pressure.)**

**Kamidake:** She is my charge to defend by my Lady's order, and I will do so until I fall.

**(Her eyes narrow coldly, answering him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Then, fall you shall, knight.

**(A taloned hand raises above the intersection of their weapons. The young knight quickly rolls aside as the dark powers gather in her palm. Her sword swings forward as she spins herself to face him again. The energy in her hand bursts forth as a ray, which he blocks by raising his staff and a defensive barrier.)**

**(However, the beam ruptures his shield and continues on to his staff. Here, the ray sparks against the aura about his staff, splitting in twain. One side burns across the shoulder of his white gi while the other over the side of his chest. He grinds his teeth through the ordeal until the beam ends.)**

**(With the darkness gone, Kamidake's scorched flesh can be clearly seen on his shoulder and chest, his Juraian gi torn and burned away by the dark woman's power. A short breath issues from his lips as he falls to his knees, leaning on his crimson staff. Soon, his hands slip from the weapon, and the young knight collapses on the deck.)**

**(Nagi cries out to him while Azaka is speechless watching his partner fall. Ryoko is likewise taken aback until the huntress rushes forward, wielding the broken edge of her violet Juraian blade. Rage written across her face, the young woman swipes at Ryoshu-Tokimi, who merely slips away from each attempted strike.)**

**(The glow in Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes dims some watching Nagi's reaction, even the tears edging at her red eyes. The daughter pauses for a moment, her fatigue and wounds showing through her anger. The dark woman before her shakes her head, a softness and recognition to her eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** He would have taken you down the wrong path, my daughter.

**(Nagi barks back at her.)**

**Nagi:** I was _already_ started down _that_ path, _bitch_!

**(She takes a step back, assuming a kendo stance, with both hands on her key. Now, with the ruby Ryoan energy touching the Juraian key, the red and violet lights blend and spark over the surface of the key, and her hands. From the crest of the device, a chaotic emission develops, regal purple sheathed in bloody crimson. Surprised and unfamiliar, Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes blink at the merger of the two powers before her as they coalesce into a serrated edge, unstable and burning bright.)**

**(Nagi steps forward, the fused blade sweeping to her side before she swings it forward with her waning strength at her foe. Ryoshu-Tokimi replies in kind, drawing up Kagato's flaring sword to meet it. However, the dual powers smash through Kagato's edge and continue forward toward Ryoshu-Tokimi's body.)**

**(Quickly, a Light Hawk Wing appears between her and the blade. The weapon impacts it and stops dead, burning in its instability against the unwavering wing. Again and again, Nagi swings as Ryoshu-Tokimi steps back, her wing blocking the blazing sword's strikes from each angle.)**

**(Yet, the dark woman looks at the huntress's hands, where they two powers scorch her flesh from the conflict of their opposing natures. The red and blue fade from Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes as she looks back at Nagi, as does the choral tones in her voice, replaced by a plead.)**

**Ryoshu:** … Stop... please...

**(Nagi's eyes burn hatefully back into her enemy's, which are those of her mother, pleading to her daughter.)**

**Ryoshu:** Nagi, please... look at yourself...

**(Once more, Nagi's dual sword smashes into Ryoshu's Light Hawk Wing, but before the mother can asks again, the daughter's scalding words reach back and cut like her blade.)**

**Nagi:** Only when you're _dead_... when you no longer speak through my _mother_...!!

**(Pained by the words, Ryoshu closes her eyes and fades away. Nagi takes a step and balances herself as the sword vanishes from her key. Wearily, the huntress too collapses on the deck of her white partner, tears rolling down from the sides of her eyes. Her breathing is slow and labored, her ordeal now complete.)**

**(Panicked, Ryoko rushes to her side, words failing her as she looks at her half-sister's condition. Similarly, Azaka hurries to Kamidake's side, finding the young man wounded and unconscious, but breathing. Ryo-Ohki reverts to her cabbit form as she mews worriedly up to Ken-Ohki's crystals, which mew weakly and painfully in return.)**

**(Yet, a display changes, showing Pii's Caroki rushing toward them at full burn from the east.)**

Scene 3 – The Goddess of Jurai

**(The periodic beep of an electrocardiogram breaks the silence of the lonely infirmary ward. Dim lights illuminate the white bedding resting over the form of Ayeka Jurai, still pale from her recent encounter with Kain II. Her violet hair loosely and haphazardly frames her face, so unlike her usual prim and proper decorum. Her chest rises and falls slowly in her dreamless slumber, induced not only by her exhaustion, but also by the sedatives fed to her intravenously.)**

**(Nearby, Tsunami sits watching her blood kin, her blue and white attire matching the azure color of her hair. Her rosy eyes worriedly and sadly focus on the weary expression left on her sister's face, the deathly white adding to the great lady's unease.)**

**(Behind her, a door opens with a quiet click followed by a soft footstep. Tsunami grins slightly, some joy entering her visage as she addresses the person behind her.)**

**Tsunami:** You're doing much better, Kiyone.

**(Standing in the doorway, Detective Kiyone Makibi gazes down toward the back of Tsunami's head. Dressed in her Galaxy Police uniform once more, she approaches closer, a curious brow raised at the young woman seated before her.)**

**Kiyone:** Sasami? I'd heard that you...

**(The Juraian woman nods, glancing at the floor as she rises. She takes a calming breath and turns toward the detective, revealing her new adult form. An amazement fills Kiyone's eyes while Tsunami speaks, an ironic tone to her words.)**

**Tsunami:** I had to grow up.

**(The officer's keen blue eyes meet the gentle pink of the lady's, searching for differences. However, the Juraian smiles warmly and adds.)**

**Tsunami:** I still remember our talks on the ocean pier in that northern fishing village.

**(She glances downward, somberly adding.)**

**Tsunami:** It was a simpler place, and a simpler life.

**(Kiyone nods, a warm smile of her own appearing.)**

**Kiyone:** It was.

**(Her blue eyes drift to Ayeka, her concern returning.)**

**Kiyone:** What happened?

**(The regal woman sighs softly, her eyes closing and head lowering. Her tone remains balanced, ****against the demands of her heart.)**

**Tsunami:** A dark creature consumed Ayeka, threatened to destroy not only her, but us all.

**(Her eyes open, meeting Kiyone's again. The rosy gaze dances with her mixed emotions, blended from love and conflict.)**

**Tsunami:** She fought it, and eventually won, at a cost.

**(The detective turns her head to meet Tsunami's sight, her teal hair brushing across her cheek.)**

**Kiyone:** Will she be alright?

**(The lady nods.)**

**Tsunami:** Her body will heal. Her power will finally flourish.

**(She glances to Ayeka once more, a gazing more past her than at her.)**

**Tsunami:** Though, the deepest wounds are not seen yet, and have the worst scars.

**(Kiyone agrees solemnly.)**

**Kiyone:** I know.

**(She takes a breath to speak, but Tsunami shakes her head and answers first.)**

**Tsunami:** What has changed in me is more complicated, and will be explained soon, to all of you.

**(The Juraian steps toward the door, her hand motioning aside kindly.)**

**Tsunami:** However, there are others that require my attention first. Would you join me?

**(The officer concurs and walks with the lady through the brightly-lit corridor. Before they leave, Tsunami steals one last worried glance toward Ayeka as the door shuts. Ahead, a few MiB agents pass, most casting a wary eye toward Tsunami. Kiyone notes this, though the regal woman ignores this and speaks softly to her friend.)**

**Tsunami:** You were wounded in a battle with...

**(She pauses briefly, taking a breath to settle herself.)**

**Tsunami:** … Ryua Ryoshu, "Tokimi". Has anyone told you of what happened afterward?

**(Kiyone nods.)**

**Kiyone:** Mostly, yes. Mihoshi and I caught J and K after the medics looked them over. Mihoshi went to check on Ryoko and Nagi.

**(The pair arrive at a door with a medical chart hanging nearby, "Juraiko, Kamidake" written on the "NAME" line. Tsunami grins to herself, considering the blonde detective.)**

**Tsunami:** Mihoshi always had a big heart.

**(Kiyone glances to the window of the door, noting the vague outline of a man seated at the bedside. She somberly adds.)**

**Kiyone:** I was worried about you, considering the situation. We were held in the infirmary during the emergency.

**(Quietly, Tsunami opens the door, shining the light upon the Juraian knight Azaka. He quickly rises and turns to face the two women. He sees Tsunami and promptly kneels before her, showing a faith and respect to her presence. Though the azure knight is not bandaged or wounded, his right hand is bound to his staff key by a brier hairband key. Nearby the dark item, his skin is slightly torn from the pricks of the device's small thorns.)**

**(Kiyone blinks at the sudden and profuse respect while Tsunami graciously seats herself in seiza with him. She rests one hand on his shoulder and one on his staff, a warm smile on her lips. She whispers kindly to him, the headpiece of his weapon warmly glowing at her touch.)**

**Tsunami:** You need not kneel to me, Azaka.

**(He raises his lavender eyes to meet hers.)**

**Tsunami:** To you, whose wisdom flows like a fount, I gave the power of an unstoppable tide. You deserve just as much respect.

**(To his, he bows his head again, answering nobly.)**

**Azaka:** You are far too kind, my lady goddess.

**(She turns her attention to the brier hairband, her eyes closing. Softly, the blue key shimmers emerald. Kiyone watches silently as a loud creak rises from the hairband until it snaps open and flies off his hand and key. Both Kiyone and Azaka spin their focus toward the grey artifact as it lands against a far wall.)**

**(Azaka takes a breath, his hand gripping his staff as its headpiece glows brightly once more. Tsunami meets his eyes and nods. He bows his head once more in respect before they both rise. The knight slightly bows toward Kiyone, acknowledging her.)**

**Azaka:** Ms Kiyone.

**(She reciprocates this before her attention turns back to the grey key across the room.)**

**Kiyone:** What is that? It looks a lot like Kagato's sword.

**(Tsunami and Azaka join her while the Juraian lady carefully approaches the device. The knight affirms the detective's initial interpretation.)**

**Azaka:** Indeed. The Matron of Ryua offered it to Lady Nagi when Kamidake and I arrived.

**(Tsunami kneels with the item, eying it carefully before she closes her gaze sadly. She takes the key and places it within her robes, commenting.)**

**Tsunami:** It is of the same make as the dark sword, a fact I wish were not true.

**(Azaka's wise sight observes his patron, his words carefully chosen.)**

**Azaka:** My Lady, if I may be so bold, I have a question, regarding the Matron of Ryua.

**(Her rosy eyes fall knowingly on him, but with a gentle shake of her head, she answers his request.)**

**Tsunami:** I will answer it soon, for you all. Please forgive me for the delay.

**(He bows his head respectfully, accepting this.)**

**Azaka:** Of course, my Lady.

**(She then looks upon the bed, where the crimson knight Kamidake lays unconscious. His shoulder and neck are bandaged from the wounds he acquired protecting Nagi aboard Ken-Ohki. His fiery hair falls around his face, the black Mark of Rage since vanished with his waking mind. Close by his side, his staff key rests, awaiting its master to rise once more.)**

**(A hurt twists within her heart looking upon the young man as her breath shortens. She rests a hand on the edge of his bed while Kiyone and Azaka also turn to him. The blue knight steps to his partner's side and rests a hand on his, a silent prayer on his mind. Kiyone glances to Tsunami as she shakes her head and whispers.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm sorry, Kamidake...

**(Azaka answers in kind.)**

**Azaka:** He would have gone even without your order, my Lady.

**(Like with Ayeka, Tsunami's eyes seem to look past the young man in the bed as she agrees.)**

**Tsunami:** … You chose well, Azaka. His tale is far from finished here.

**(A proud, and relieved, breath fills Azaka's lungs as he accepts this, bowing his head in thanks to her. Kiyone approaches, her eyes falling on Tsunami, who takes a breath with an explanation.)**

**Tsunami:** … When Ayeka was struggling against the creature, Ryoko and Nagi left to stop her. I sent the knights to protect them.

**(An ache fills the detective's chest while she looks at Kamidake, remembering Mitsuki's recent and violent departure from this life. Quietly, she sympathizes.)**

**Kiyone:** We're all losing friends...

**(Tsunami motions gently toward the door.)**

**Tsunami:** Come. There remains one last place to visit.

**(Azaka nods, leaving a soft pat on his partner's hand before he spins to exit. Kiyone also lingers a gaze over the fallen knight before she too steels herself with a calming breath, Mitsuki's memory fresh in her thoughts. Tsunami follows them, but pauses to glance back at Kamidake, her eyes sad and distant at the young man. To him, she whispers out of earshot of the others.)**

**Tsunami:** … What she must do next, she must do without you... I'm sorry, Kamidake...

**(The door shuts behind her as she joins the other two and continues through the corridor. A few doors away from Kamidake's room, "Jurai, Nagi" is printed on a chart. As they approach, they see the door open and the blonde GP detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu exit the room. Her eyes are cast low, a somber expression on her face.)**

**(Kiyone advances to her partner and rests a hand on her shoulder. Mihoshi's rise to meet her cohort's with a soft smile while the teal-tressed officer inquires gently.)**

**Kiyone:** How are they?

**(Mihoshi glances back to the shut door and answers, concern in her voice.)**

**Mihoshi:** The doctors say Nagi is exhausted, but she's strong and will pull through okay. Ryoko, though...

**(A worry crosses her brows as she looks back to Kiyone.)**

**Mihoshi:** She's lost her powers. She couldn't stop Ryoshu... like we couldn't, Kiyone...

**(The other GP detective nods, a grave expression on her own face.)**

**Kiyone:** … I know.

**(Tsunami lowers her eyes, a guilty feeling welling within her. The blonde turns to the azure-haired woman and blinks in surprise.)**

**Mihoshi:** Sasami?

**(The regal lady nods, accepting this name.)**

**Tsunami:** Yes, Mihoshi. It is I.

**Mihoshi:** But, you... you're a lot older.

**Tsunami:** … I am sorry.

**(Mihoshi smiles warmly, her naïve way welcoming for her friend.)**

**Mihoshi:** You look a lot more like Ayeka now.

**(Tsunami grins back, the comparison lifting some of the weight in her heart.)**

**Tsunami:** Thank you.

**(She takes a breath and glances to Azaka, who nods solemnly to his liege. Seriously, the Juraian addresses the two GP officers.)**

**Tsunami:** Let's join the others. I have much to explain.

**(Kiyone and Azaka agree, though Mihoshi watches Tsunami, surprise lingering at the maturity the lady now carries. Kiyone pats Mihoshi's shoulder and turns her toward the corridor. Azaka remains with Tsunami while the regal woman glances toward the door, her gaze distant once more. The knight patiently waits as Tsunami sighs, closing her eyes. Warmly, she comments to her retainer.)**

**Tsunami:** I never meant for any of this to come to pass.

**(Sagely, Azaka answers in a respectful tone.)**

**Azaka:** Sometimes wars begin unintentionally, my Lady.

**(She advances through the corridor, Azaka attending her side as she concurs.)**

**Tsunami:** Well said. I pray this is one of those times.

**(Elsewhere, in the MiB conference room, Zed sits at the head of the long marble table, attended by his agents J, L, and K'. Zed himself rests his elbows on the table, his right hand clasping his left lightly. Each of the three agents is seated to Zed's right, waiting in their own way: J with his arms folded and an impatient gleam to his eyes, L with her fingers wed before her and attention on the others in attendance, and K' tapping his index finger on the table as he thinks.)**

**(Across from the agents, Yosho and Washu are seated to Zed's left. Washu's attention is settled primarily on the translucent displays surrounding her, each showing data on either Tenchi, Dark Ayeka, Nagi, or Ryoshu-Tokimi from the various encounters of recent memory. Yosho has his arms folded silently, his thoughts inward regarding the same events, particularly the skirmish with Dark Ayeka.)**

**(With them are Will Pii and Nerti Ro, each still wearing their combative attire. Next to Washu, Nerti also glances through the recent data, likewise pondering its portents while the hunter quickly brushes his middle and index fingers against one another, his own thoughts flowing in his mind.)**

**(The door to the conference room opens, allowing Tsunami, Azaka, Kiyone, and Mihoshi to enter. All eyes turn to the new arrivals, particularly Tsunami. J, L, and K' all furrow their brows at her new appearance, as does Pii. As the two GP detectives seat themselves with their MiB counterparts, Zed motions to the opposing end of the table, his voice amiable to the Juraian lady.)**

**Zed:** Princess Sasami Jurai, it seems we've missed a few of your birthdays. About ten of them, I think.

**(Tsunami nods, her demeanor cool and reflective while she seats herself opposite Zed, Azaka taking the chair to her right.)**

**Tsunami:** In a sense, you are correct.

**(The chief agent leans back in his chair and eyes Tsunami with interest.)**

**Zed:** I have seen many different races and species in my time. Of those, only a handful of humanoid races can spontaneously alter their appearance, and last I checked, Juraians weren't one of them.

**(She accepts this, stating his apparent conclusion.)**

**Tsunami:** Then, I must be not be Juraian, or if I am, something is unique about me.

**Zed:** Considering we've been fighting a Ryoan with immense power who's supposed to be dead, you'll understand my current interest.

**(Tsunami nods, taking a calming breath. She glances to Azaka, who silently concurs before she turns to the others and speaks.)**

**Tsunami:** Ten years ago, Empress Kamiki Misaki gave birth to her second child, a girl her husband, Emperor Jurai Azusa I, named "Sasami". That royal daughter does sit before you now.

**(She pauses, glancing first to Yosho. The grandfather respectfully nods to her before she turns her attention to Kiyone and Mihoshi. Both listen intently, Mihoshi bearing a worry on her brows. Tsunami then continues, raising a hand at her side.)**

**Tsunami:** However, I am also known by another name, "Tsunami".

**(A gentle azure light streams upward from her palm. The ray of light splits and twines around itself, soon forming into a tree-like shape. Washu looks at her screens, her eyes narrowing at the words "Immeasurable" appearing numerous times in the readings. Nerti also blinks in surprise at these unavailable measurements before she turns her attention back to Tsunami.)**

**Tsunami:** For time immemorial, Jurai has wielded this Light, power with nearly limitless potential, but this was not always the case. Long ago, neither Jurai nor Ryua knew such power. Both were bestowed their strength by a being embodying that essence.

**(Kiyone and L watch the lights in silent reverence, each listening to the lady's words. J and Pii both critically observe this "tree of light", though they keep their attention on the Juraian's tale.)**

**Tsunami:** For Ryua, this role was played by "Tokimi", their Matron. For Jurai, the one they call the "Lady of Mystery"...

**(Tsunami closes her eyes, concluding her statement.)**

**Tsunami:** … was "Tsunami".

**(Kiyone furrows her brows, a concern in her mind.)**

**Kiyone:** Then, you are like Tokimi?

**(The lady nods, affirming more than just this.)**

**Tsunami:** … She is my sister.

**Kiyone:** So, you're inhabiting Sasami's body?

**(Tsunami's rosy gaze meets Kiyone's as she shakes her head.)**

**Tsunami:** Not in the way you mean. I am both "Sasami" and "Tsunami", one and the same. When Empress Misaki gave birth to "Sasami", "Tsunami" assimilated with her, becoming a single being.

**(She closes her hand, the tree image fading as she explains to Kiyone.)**

**Tsunami:** I was the child who ran behind my sister Ayeka's heels in Jurai's meadows. I sat with you in your ideal world in the northern fishing village, Kiyone. I watched as Kagato stole my sister away to the palace during his coup d'etat. I am Jurai Sasami, younger princess of the planet Jurai.

**(Her eyes close, and shortly afterward, the headpiece of Azaka's staff begins to rotate with a soft azure glow. Likewise, Yosho glances down and draws Tenchiken from his gi, noting the violet crest warmly shining. The Juraian lady continues plainly.)**

**Tsunami:** I also stood within the First Tree and bestowed the Light to Jurai. I came to the first Jurai king and molded the five keys of Jurai's power for him and his two knights. I halted the Great Liaens's ship from crashing and destroying Jurai. I renewed both Ryu-Oh and Funaho to fly once again. I am Tsunami, the source of Jurai's power.

**(The keys fall silent as she raises her eyes to Kiyone again, Sasami's kindness looking back through them.)**

**Tsunami:** I am both.

**(L leans forward, resting a hand on the table as she offers her own question.)**

**L:** Are you a god then?

**(Tsunami lowers her eyes, answering softly.)**

**Tsunami:** I have been called such before, but the term carries the connotation of wanting worship and tribute. I want and have requested neither.

**(Kiyone sits up, shaking her head incredulously.)**

**Kiyone:** Why? Why would you bond with a newborn baby?

**(The Juraian woman closes her eyes while J also echoes the detective's words.)**

**J:** And, what's the deal with Tokimi and Ryoko's mom?

**(K' concurs, adding.)**

**K':** And, why has she singled out Earth, along with Jurai?

**(Tsunami takes a breath, steeling herself as she nods, accepting these questions.)**

**Tsunami:** These are all valid questions. To answer them, please allow me to start at the beginning.

**(With a wave of her hand, an orb of light appears hovering over the center of the great table. All in attendance gaze upon it as the construct displays an image not seen for thousands of years: two female figures of power, standing together around a single galaxy, the Milky Way. One seems to have twin pony-tails trailing behind her, Tsunami. The other a crown of feather-like streamers passing over her scalp, Tokimi.)**

**(Washu's left hand tacks the keys of one of her many panels, setting it to record this phenomenon, in addition to Tsunami's words.)**

**Tsunami:** For eons, we two had balanced one another, testing the limits of our capabilities against one another. I held the Light, she the Darkness. I was the Ocean, she the Blaze, opposites both in power and demeanor. We had watched civilizations rise and fall on numerous worlds before they began to spread their influence.

**(The two figures turn their brilliant countenances toward the galaxy, each seeing the sparks of war igniting, battles waged on the cosmic scale. Tsunami's image raises her hand to her mouth, taken aback while Tokimi folds her arms, her presence visibly displeased.)**

**Tsunami:** Millennia ago, we gazed down upon the galaxy and saw the appearance of travel between stars, and the origin of interplanetary dispute. I could not watch these worlds destroy themselves senselessly, and my sister agreed that we should act.

**(The sphere changes its projection, showing now a more familiar sight, the interior of a Juraian building. However, it seems newer, cleaner, without all the elegant motifs and carvings of the culture. In the center of the chamber is a single, mighty tree, much like an oak rooted proudly within the floor. Several people gather around the great plant, speaking amongst themselves. Each is dressed in a simple oriental style: a gi with hakama, or a plain kimono, depending on sex and preference.)**

**(A single burst of white light shines from the central tree, causing all to cover their eyes from the brilliant appearance. The light dims some until the people can see a single female figure standing seemingly within the tree. All turn and approach, amazed by the advent of Tsunami upon Jurai.)**

**Tsunami:** To bring order to the galaxy, we decided to choose a world each to champion peace. The world I chose had risen to prominence through their sentient trees and union with their nature. They carried with them a nobility and honor that few other worlds could match.

**(A bearded man steps closer to the tree, his eyes upon Tsunami's form as she opens her arms toward him, welcoming him. He takes a knee before her as she gently nods her head to him. From her hands, emerald light emerges and passes through the great plant to the man, and to select others with him.)**

**Tsunami:** I chose to reveal myself to them through their most central tree, known later as the First Tree. To create leaders, I bestowed my power upon their most prominent lineage, a family that would come to be known as the Jurai royal family. The descendants of that world would thereafter be known as Juraians.

**(The scene shifts to a later time, where several people are seated around the First Tree, listening as Tsunami speaks.)**

**Tsunami:** My power flowed through them as well as their trees, many pairing with one specific tree and synchronizing intimately with it. For several years, I remained with them, teaching them about the gift I had given them.

**(Another change shows Juraian ships rising from the green planet Jurai and into space, Tsunami's form sitting silently upon a limb of a distant tree on the surface.)**

**Tsunami:** In time, they learned all I could teach. I then stepped away, allowing them to grow on their own. In the early years, many would still call my name, and I would come to guide them as I could. However, as centuries passed, my name was forgotten, and I became known as the "Woman of Mystery", the lady of legend who raised Jurai from obscurity.

**(A contrasting image now takes the place of peaceful Jurai. Crystal corridors extend from a single chamber. Here, twelve distinguished people are seated around a circular table. Each carries the elfin ears and feline eyes that are familiar to Ryoko and Nagi. Further, at the side of each is a cabbit, seated loyally at their respective master's side. The group debate, several documents before them written in an ancient tongue.)**

**(However, a burst of white light appears at the center of the table. Blinded much like the ancient Juraians, these people shield their eyes until the brilliance fades to reveal a female figure hovering over their meeting place, her body consumed in a ruby flame. Together, these twelve witness the advent of Tokimi upon Ryua.)**

**Tsunami:** My sister chose a world which had become prominent through the crystals of their world. They were a passionate people, strong and proud beyond the capability of most others.

**(One gentleman stands while Tokimi's form extends her hand to him. His head bows to her, as do the other eleven with him. She raises her chin as crystal gems appear over each cabbit. The furry creatures close their eyes and raise their heads to the stones when the crimson flames around Tokimi pass through the cabbits. The gems merge into their foreheads, soon transforming each into a rhomboid gem. The power then passes to the cabbits' masters and outward into the world.)**

**Tsunami:** She revealed herself to them through their gems, using her power to fuse those stones to their furry companions, those from whom the Ohki race is descended. She filtered her power through them, bestowing the entire world with a fraction of her essence. In time, those who carried her fire came to be known as Ryoan.

**(The scene shifts to later, where the twelve stand on a stage speaking to countless members of their people. Tokimi listens a distance away, her form hidden in the shadows of her chosen twelve.)**

**Tsunami:** Connected to her as Jurai was to me, many of their people also paired with a cabbit companion, synchronizing much the same as the trees. Through her first twelve, her knowledge spread throughout the world that would become known as Ryua, a name also taken by several members of that first group.

**(Another shift reveals the towers of crystal rising from Ryua. Here, several cabbits leap into the air and transform into crystalline spaceships and slice through the clouds above, exiting into space. The moonlight casts long shadows on the world, where Tokimi stands silently watching from the rookery of a solitary tower.)**

**Tsunami:** My sister told me how she watched them grow and soon also no longer call her name. She still held some close, calling her their Matron, the source of their power. Often, she and I would discuss our respective worlds and their growing influence. I relished those times, seeing how our people flourished in different ways, Jurai very centralized and Ryua more diffuse.

**(The scene changes to a flock of Juraian tree-ships passing through the space-ways of the galaxy. The group silently progress without incident near a few planets on their way through a blue star's system.)**

**Tsunami:** For a thousand years, Jurai and Ryua stabilized their sectors, each soon becoming a known force across their arm of the galaxy. At the end of that millennium, my sister became increasingly more involved in her world. They would call upon her more regularly, and I would miss speaking with her. Then, she no longer spoke with me. Within another century, the borders of Jurai and Ryua's influence abutted one another, and tensions rose between the two.

**(Crimson rays fire into the cluster of crafts, several exploding into fragments of burnt wood. The remaining ships scatter when a squadron of Ohkis appear and engage the remaining forces. The tree-ships retaliate, their emerald beams destroying several crystalline ships as the first battle of many to come wages.)**

**Tsunami:** Then, battles began, soon escalating into war between the two great nations. I searched for my sister, hoping to join with her to end this conflict, but no matter where I looked, I could not find her. I wept, watching her people and mine destroying one another, and the peace we had so wanted to create.

**(On Jurai, Tsunami appears within the First Tree, attended by a regally dressed couple. The man is dressed in a blend of what would become Juraian regalia and military dress, his chest and collar pinned with pins and accolades. His deep, regal violet hair falls around his head, darkening to near black at its tips. His thoughtful purple eyes turn to Tsunami's image, surprised at her arrival.)**

**(The woman with him wears simpler attire: a gi and trousers black in color, the Mark of Rage clawing two marks across each of her cheeks. Her silvery hair is tied behind her in a simple ponytail, practical for a combatant. Her scarlet eyes blink at the ethereal woman's advent, just as surprised as her mate.)**

**(The two kneel before her respectfully while the god-like figure pleads to them both.)**

**Tsunami:** This was the time of legends, of the knights Azaka and Kamidake, of the man who would become Jurai king the first, Jurai Sho. Though the Holy Council officially ruled, they gave him and his bride, Lady Aki, leadership of their people during the war. I pleaded with them to make peace with Ryua.

**(Somberly, the pair answer her, disheartening the Lady of Mystery.)**

**Tsunami:** In truth, they already had tried, but were ignored by my sister's people. They asked me to intervene on their behalf, to save their people from this awful conflict.

**(She lowers her head, holding her arms close, chilled by the situation.)**

**Tsunami:** To do so would mean raising my hand against my sister, and I could not do that. I could not believe that this was my sister's will. I waited, hoping to see her hand intervene on her people's behalf, to save them from themselves. For a decade, the war raged, with no word from my sister.

**(The scene changes to the throne of Jurai within the imperial palace. Sho sits upon his throne, attended by the two knights, Azaka and Kamidake. Notably older, the great man holds a ransom note in his hand, claiming his daughter's disappearance a kidnapping.)**

**Tsunami:** In the years following, Ryua's holdings were integrated into Jurai's, becoming the origin of the Jurai Empire under King Sho I. The knights have told you of the next tale, of the first princess's kidnapping by the Proran man, Liaens.

**(Sho clasps his hands together, whispering, pleading in his prayer to the Woman of Mystery. From the great tree behind him, Tsunami's form appears, her brilliance casting down upon him and his two knights. The three men all take a knee before her while she advances toward them, her hands open in offering to them.)**

**Tsunami:** Fearing for his daughter's life, he called to me. Liaens was a powerful man even then, and a legitimate threat to Jurai. Unlike the war with Ryua, I would now intervene. I would not fail my people a second time.

**(With a word, she bids them to rise. Before her, ten Light Hawk Wings crack reality and open into existence, amazing all three of the Juraians with her.)**

**Tsunami:** My sister and I possess power beyond what we have bestowed to our people. To an extent, we can fracture reality itself with our presence, what we call our Wings of the Light Hawk.

**(She grasps two of her wings, molding each into the well-known staff key that each knight wields presently. She extends these to the two men, and they graciously accept the devices, each holding his respectfully before himself.)**

**(Similarly, the goddess takes two more wings and molds them into the tiara and hairband keys of Ayeka and Nagi, respectively. These she offers to Sho himself, and he likewise accepts them in humble fashion.)**

**Tsunami:** From these, I created the five keys of Jurai's power: the two staves of the two knights, the two crowns worn today by Ayeka and Nagi...

**(The king places these upon his shoulders, where they encircle his joints and attach to his clothes. Together, he and the knights rise before their Lady, the crests of their keys glowing a gentle emerald with her presence. Lastly, she gathers three more of her wings together, aligning them parallel to one another. She brings them together with her hands, their shape molding into the mighty broadsword wielded by Tenchi against Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**(However, she opens her hands, and the construct reconfigures into the katana hilt known as Tenchiken. As with the other keys, she offers it to Sho, which he accepts nobly.)**

**Tsunami:** … and Jurai's sword, Tenchiken. To ensure their victory, it was composed of three of my wings merged into one. If needed, it could be augmented by their power into a fierce weapon, one that was never needed or seen until Tenchi called it forth within the NVO distortion.

**(Back in the conference room of MiB headquarters, Tsunami's display orb fades away as she concludes her tale to current.)**

**Tsunami:** As you know, they were successful, though the two knights were seriously wounded. The king sealed them away until Grandfather revived them in this era. Princess Achi was returned to Jurai, in time becoming queen herself. Millennia passed, and my sister's power in her people was chemically suppressed. I still heard nothing from her until a century ago, when her energy reappeared in its pure form, within the being known as Kain.

**(Washu nods, adding to her story.)**

**Washu:** He went on his little tirade of destruction until the Jurai emperor of that era aided the Galaxy Police in sealing him in subspace. Since then, his characteristic energy has been highly studied, designated "Non-normal Variety of Occurrence" or "NVO".

**(She passes her hand over her screens, sending them to the center of the table for all to see. Here, she has still images of their major foes from the last three years: Kagato Jurai, Kain, Mecha-Nerti, and Liaens.)**

**Washu:** Lord Katsuhito said it before. We've been interfering in someone else's plans. A generation after Kain was imprisoned, Jurai Kagato first attempted to rise to power. A generation later, Kain returned to 1970 and attacked Masaki Achika. Twenty-five years pass, and Kagato reemerged. The following summer, Kain escaped, heading to 1970.

**(Nerti concurs, lowering her eyes.)**

**Nerti:** A year later... Liaens and Jezibel sent Illirg and Mecha-Nerti to Earth. Not long afterward, he made his move on Jurai itself.

**(A warmth covers her hand as she glances aside and sees Pii's palm over hers. She smiles slightly, her fingers wedding with his. Yosho folds his arms, the light reflecting off his glasses as he speaks.)**

**Yosho:** These incidents are coming more often.

**(Tsunami somberly agrees, turning her attention to the representatives from the Masaki home.)**

**Tsunami:** Yes, they are. I saw the emperor fall to Kain. I offered him what power I could to aid him, but in the end, the battle claimed his life.

**(She closes her eyes sadly as she adds.)**

**Tsunami:** Then, Kagato's descent... watching him, one of my own people, ravage the civilization in which I placed such hope...

**(Again, her sight falls upon Kiyone, seeing the doubt in her eyes.)**

**Tsunami:** You asked me how I could bond with a newborn child, to "damn" her in that way.

**(She smiles softly, her rosy gaze pleading for understanding.)**

**Tsunami:** I saw myself in young Sasami, when you all transcended time by a generation. I saw the life she had led with all of you, that I would lead. There was potential to spare you all much pain if I were here among you.

**(Apologetically, she lowers her eyes, her head bowing with respect.)**

**Tsunami:** I am sorry for Matsu Mitsuki... I know that I have held the truth from you all, the truth of who I am. I am sorry to have deceived you.

**(Kiyone considers this in silence for a moment until Mihoshi rests a hand on her shoulder. The blonde's innocent and kind eyes implore to those of her partner, in time spurring her to take a soft breath and nod.)**

**(Relief flows through the room as Yosho and Azaka likewise smile at the reconciliation. Even J and L approve with a smirk and a grin. However, the voice of K' breaks the feeling of the room with his question.)**

**K':** That still doesn't explain the interest in Earth or Ryoshu Ryua.

**(J scoffs and lightly slaps the younger agent's shoulder. Insulted, the recipient turns to the more experienced MiB agent, who explains plainly, and sarcastically.)**

**J:** Where do you think all the problems have been coming from, rook? Every time something crops up, these guys are in the middle of it.

**(K' glares back with his retort.)**

**K':** But, these are Jurai's problems, not Earth's.

**(J raises a brow and adds.)**

**J:** You didn't get the _Casablanca_ speech, did you?

**(Zed smirks as he shakes his head.)**

**Zed:** No, J. Only your old partner used that one.

**(To K', the chief directs his attention and corrects the young agent.)**

**Zed:** K, this is our jurisdiction, and these people are in our care.

**(He then glances to Tsunami, meeting her timeless gaze.)**

**Zed:** Also, Jurai is one of our allies. Those facts make it _our_ problem.

**(While K' is silenced, Kiyone next speaks, restating an earlier question.)**

**Kiyone:** Still, why has Tokimi taken Ryua Ryoshu as an avatar? Why someone so tied to people we know?

**(Tsunami rests her hand on her chest, explaining.)**

**Tsunami:** Much like myself, she is tied to her people. Through her power within them, she can become one with them, not unlike I have.

**(Washu narrows her eyes on the Juraian woman, considering a possibility in her thoughts.)**

**Washu:** … and not a blank slate like a newborn babe, either...

**(The lady adds, her eyes sliding to Washu knowingly.)**

**Tsunami:** As to Ryua Ryoshu specifically, I could only conjecture at the moment.

**(She and the Ryoan genius exchange a glance before Zed takes a breath, gaining the attention of the others with his words.)**

**Zed:** Regardless, she has made herself an obvious threat to Earth, and we here at the MiB are not going to let it continue.

**(He motions to Washu and Nerti as he continues.)**

**Zed:** While most of you were handling Princess Ayeka and Ryoshu-Tokimi, I met with Dr Hakubi and Ms Ro regarding the latter.

**(With a tap of a key, Washu's display expands for all to see, revealing the Jurai cannon within the hangar. However, it has been further modified from its original design as a GP dimensional cannon. Attached to either side of the weapon is a transparent capsule containing the staff keys of the dark knights Tetta and Tessei, each wired into the cannon's system.)**

**(The GP and MiB personnel furrow their brows at the upgrade, as does Pii. Yosho and Azaka both glance toward Zed while Tsunami catches her breath, a chill racing through her spine. The chief agent explains.)**

**Zed:** We know Jurai energy can hurt her, but she's been shown to be resilient. In fact, she deflected the Jurai cannon once within the distortion from what we can tell.

**(Washu nods.)**

**Washu:** I'm convinced that her "wings", as you call them, are extra-dimensional constructs bridging into our perceived reality. This is why they currently avoid quantization.

**(Nerti next adds her insight.)**

**Nerti:** But, we've seen that a combination of Jurai and NVO energy can have devastating effects due to their polar nature. When the two coincide, the reaction is intense and bleeds into neighboring dimensions.

**Washu:** Minor versions of those effects occurred with Nagi started utilizing Jurai and Ryoan energy together. These two staff keys have a localized concentration of pure NVO energy inherent in their structure. Blending this with the pseudo-Jurai energy from the Fudo temples in a single, focused location will be enough to cause a significant dimensional impact. This should rattle her wings out of phase with our reality.

**(J raises a brow, inquiring.)**

**J:** And, exactly what does that mean?

**(Washu sighs and shakes her head, an irksome quirk to her lips.)**

**Washu:** It'll take her defenses down!

**(J scowls at the redhead while Zed concurs.)**

**Zed:** Exactly. That's when we smack her back. Your ships are still equipped with the pseudo-Jurai armament from the battle with the distortion.

**(Worried, L motions toward the display.)**

**L:** This looks ridiculously overpowered. Are you sure this won't just blow up half the planet when it goes off?

**(Washu scoffs to herself, a mild insult seen on her face.)**

**Washu:** Considering we're dealing with a being that, arguably, could be called a "god", I don't think "overpowered" is a word to use here.

**(She waves her hand aside, dispelling the screen as she continues.)**

**Washu:** Besides, I have experience with dimension-oscillating weaponry. That research was one of the reasons the SA exiled me seven-hundred years ago.

**(Gravely, Pii turns to Nerti.)**

**Pii:** You think this will work?

**(Nerti lowers her eyes.)**

**Nerti:** I think so, but dimensional theory isn't my strength. The calculations say it will be a forceful reaction with dimensional bleed, but these wings are unprecedented. I don't know what to expect from them.

**(Zed's eyes slide to meet Yosho's, noting the Juraian's evident discomfort with this proposed weapon.)**

**Zed:** What about you, Lord Yosho?

**(Stoically, he answers.)**

**Yosho:** I don't think I'm the one to be asked.

**(His violet eyes fall upon Tsunami, as does Zed's gaze. Somber, she glances aside when the chief agent questions her.)**

**Zed:** Princess, goddess or not, I'm sure you can see what's needed here.

**(Her eyes close as she nods silently before she answers.)**

**Tsunami:** I can.

**(He extends a hand toward her.)**

**Zed:** Considering what you've already said, you could end this yourself.

**(She takes a slow breath, calming the unease inside her heart.)**

**Tsunami:** … She is my sister, Zed. I will not raise my hand against her.

**(She stands and turns toward the door, gaining the room's attention. Azaka rises at her side, but she gently motions toward him with a shake of her head, her voice troubled.)**

**Tsunami:** Please, Azaka. Stay with them. They need you now.

**(She advances toward the door.)**

**Tsunami:** And, I want to be alone.

**(The knight bows to her respectfully as she fades away near the door. Worry crosses the assembled people at the Juraian's exit, particularly those from the Masaki household. Zed surveys the group, folding his arms as he considers the coming conflict. Similarly, Yosho glances to the others, dubious himself.)**

Scene 4 – Of Light and Shadows

**(Nagi's breath gently lifts the sheets resting over her, the huntress's eyes closed in a slumber. Her arms rest over the covers, her hands wrapped in gauze after the ordeal of the dueling powers. The woman's spiked hair frames her head upon the pillow much like a crowning headdress, this forgotten daughter of Jurai's royal family.)**

**(Nearby, Ryoko sits silently, her amber eyes locked on the scorched hairband key in her hands. Her fingers coast over its naturally smooth texture, and the rough, burned portions. She closes her eyes, remembering the fury that coursed through Nagi with each swipe aimed at Ryoshu-Tokimi. Her face twists into an angry scowl as she clenches her fists around the device, recalling her futile punches.)**

**(A knock from the door behind Ryoko breaks her from these dark memories. Ryoko curses under her breath as she glances back.)**

**Ryoko:** Dammit, Mihoshi...

**(She sighs, her attention drifting back to the key, her thumbs sliding over the Juraian crest as well as the empty, circular socket opposite it. She ponders the strange design when a footstep treads behind her, within the room.)**

**(Ryoko glances back and sees Tsunami standing before the closed door. Quickly, the Ryoan woman stands facing the Juraian princess. The former pirate's brows furrow as her eyes scan over the familiar person before her.)**

**Ryoko:** Sasami...?

**(Tsunami nods, a warm smile on her lips.)**

**Tsunami:** I came to see how you were.

**(Her eyes also slide somberly to Nagi.)**

**Tsunami:** Both of you.

**(The lady approaches Nagi's bedside while Ryoko, confused, asks her obvious question.)**

**Ryoko:** What happened to you?

**(The princess takes the huntress's hand lightly, feeling the soft gauze around her partially self-inflicted wounds. Tsunami answers, her eyes still set on Nagi's tired face.)**

**Tsunami:** To say "it's complicated" would hardly do the truth justice.

**(Her eyes close.)**

**Tsunami:** I wanted to help, and I couldn't do that as a child.

**(She looks back toward Ryoko.)**

**Tsunami:** Like you, I couldn't stand aside and watch.

**(Ryoko's fist gathers around the key as she turns slightly away, a curl to her lip.)**

**Ryoko:** Yeah, for what _good_ it's done.

**(She raises the key into her sight as she scowls at it, her frustration burning on her words.)**

**Ryoko:** I couldn't do anything _but_ watch. The bitch just _pushed_ me aside while she took down _not just_ my sister, but _two_ of Jurai's _best_, _easily_.

**(Tsunami's eyes lower as Ryoko adds.)**

**Ryoko:** Sad thing is, it's likely that even with my old powers, I wouldn't have made much difference.

**(The princess nods slightly.)**

**Tsunami:** Very likely.

**(Yet, she steps closer and rests her hand on the key. The violet crest on the device glows warmly, spurring the former pirate to glance up to the other's rosy eyes. Honest and true, Tsunami speaks plainly to her friend.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm sorry, Ryoko, both to you and Nagi.

**(She glances back to Nagi while the key's damage gradually repairs itself under Tsunami's touch.)**

**Tsunami:** Much of this is due to my neglect and oversight.

**(Ryoko looks down to the key and blinks in surprise as the Juraian with her releases the device. Confused, the Ryoan questions her.)**

**Ryoko:** What do you mean _your_ neglect?

**(Tsunami sighs and shakes her head, motioning to the key.)**

**Tsunami:** That key was designed to handle Juraian energies primarily.

**(She points to the violet crest.)**

**Tsunami:** This helps to focus the power through mental command, but it is attuned specifically to Jurai.

**(Her attention then shifts to the empty socket.)**

**Tsunami:** This, however, was meant for a secondary focal point, should the need arise.

**(Somberly, her eyes meet Ryoko's once more.)**

**Tsunami:** Without one, the key could not help Nagi stabilize the powers she wielded.

**(Ryoko shakes her head, waving her hand toward Tsunami.)**

**Ryoko:** So what? How is this _your_ fault?

**(The azure-haired woman raises a hand at her side, a Light Hawk Wing cracking open within her grasp. Ryoko's eyes open wide as she takes a step back, recognizing the construct from her encounters with Ryoshu-Tokimi. Coolly, Tsunami answers this question.)**

**Tsunami:** Because I made it.

**(The wing shoots toward the hairband key, swirling around the empty socket within it. Ryoko watches in awe as the wing curls inside the circular region and coalesces into a spherical jewel. The brilliant light fades, showing its final crimson color. The Ryoan woman examines the newly modified key, amazed at the occurrence while Tsunami explains.)**

**Tsunami:** I am "Jurai Sasami", sister of Jurai Ayeka, but I am also "Tsunami", sister of Tokimi.

**(Ryoko dubiously looks up to the Juraian as she continues honestly and somberly.)**

**Tsunami:** I am sorry for what my sister has done to both you and Nagi, among so many others.

**(The former pirate folds her arms, her golden eyes scanning over Tsunami cautiously. The Juraian lowers her eyes and takes a step back.)**

**Tsunami:** Given what has happened, your doubt is certainly justified.

**(Ryoko takes a breath and starts to speak.)**

**Ryoko:** Sasa...

**(She pauses, sighing hard as she curses to herself.)**

**Ryoko:** Goddammit, what do I even _call_ you?

**(Tsunami smiles warmly.)**

**Tsunami:** "Sasami" or "Tsunami", whichever you prefer.

**(Ryoko scoffs and grins some when she looks back to the princess.)**

**Ryoko:** Alright, Sasami.

**(She glances toward Nagi, considering their recent encounters with Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**Ryoko:** What does she want?

**(Somberly, Tsunami also turns her attention to Nagi as she answers.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm not sure. She and I haven't spoken for a long time.

**Ryoko:** Have a falling out?

**Tsunami:** Not as such. We both became consumed in our work, and...

**(She trails off, spurring Ryoko's eyes to slide toward her.)**

**Tsunami:** … we didn't talk anymore.

**(The former pirate nods, her more pointed question following.)**

**Ryoko:** What about me and Nagi, and our mom? What's her deal with us?

**(Tsunami meets Ryoko's eyes, the answer fairly quick.)**

**Tsunami:** For the same reason I am "Jurai Sasami", she is "Ryua Ryoshu".

**(Ryoko quirks a brow.)**

**Ryoko:** Come again?

**(A gravity enters Tsunami's voice as she explains.)**

**Tsunami:** I was not sure until I saw you now, but I had suspected it when I heard that my sister was using your mother's form. She, and by extension you and Nagi, are descended from her first twelve.

**Ryoko:** "First twelve"?

**(The princess opens her hand, producing the same spherical projection from when she spoke to the others. Here, the orb displays Tokimi's original advent on Ryua.)**

**Tsunami:** When my sister made herself known to your people, she first appeared to their twelve leaders. Your mother was descended from one of them, a man named "Oryo".

**(The image zooms in upon one of the twelve, a man seemingly in his mid-thirties. His auburn hair is combed back, spiking behind his head while his blue eyes focus on Tokimi's first manifestation. He wears a fitted tunic, black in color with scarlet flaring over his shoulders and down his back. Ryoko narrows her eyes at him while Tsunami continues.)**

**Tsunami:** Just as I am connected to the Jurai royal family, she is connected to yours. Just as I assimilated with a daughter of the Jurai imperial line, so has she to a daughter of Ryua.

**(Ryoko shakes her head, part of her denying this evidence.)**

**Ryoko:** _Why_? Why _my_ mom? Why not someone else? There were twelve of them there, right?

**(Tsunami sighs, closing her hand and dispelling the orb.)**

**Tsunami:** That I don't know. I'm sorry.

**(Ryoko holds her arms tightly while Tsunami steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder. The Ryoan woman takes a breath and whispers a question.)**

**Ryoko:** Why does she call me and Nagi her "children"?

**(The princess answers in kind.)**

**Tsunami:** When one assimilates with another, two become one, indistinguishable. When I became "Sasami", I was both "Tsunami" of Juraian legend and "Jurai Sasami" of the imperial line thereafter. When she became "Ryua Ryoshu", your mother's spirit blends with hers in a similar way. She sees you as her daughter just the same.

**(Ryoko opens her hand and gazes down into her palm, a scowl on her brow.)**

**Ryoko:** And, "punishes" me by stripping my powers away...

**(The lady nods silently before a moment passes between them. Then, Ryoko closes her fist and heatedly asks under her breath.)**

**Ryoko:** … What about you...?

**(Tsunami blinks in surprise as their gazes meet. The former pirate's eyes burn fiercely, determination and fury pleading for release. The princess glances down in thought for a moment before she starts to speak.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm not sure what...

**(Ryoko shakes her head, unfazed.)**

**Ryoko:** You know _exactly_ what I mean. You're _like_ her. _She_ took them away. _You_ could give them back.

**(Uneasy, Tsunami meets Ryoko's eyes again, explaining her worry.)**

**Tsunami:** Ryoko, your body has already carried my sister's power and then had it violently stripped away. Since then, you have hardly rested, and I don't believe it wise to proceed with this request.

**(Ryoko glares back, her frustration evident in her words.)**

**Ryoko:** What? So I can sit on my hands until "psycho-mom" comes back for me _and_ my sister?

**(She spins away and walks across the room, venting her angry heart.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm not going to wait and be attacked! That's what Tenchi and I...!

**(She stops herself, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh. Tsunami advances slowly, resting her hands on Ryoko's shoulders with a few kind words.)**

**Tsunami:** I know. I'm sorry...

**(A moment passes before Tsunami raises her hand at her side.)**

**Tsunami:** Let's go see him.

**(Ryoko nods as the Juraian lady waves her hand, causing the pair to be enveloped in a wave of white light. Once this brightness fades, the two vanish from the room, transported elsewhere.)**

**(In a similar room, Tenchi Masaki is likewise unconscious in a clean and warm bed. Monitoring devices nearby the bed beep softly, confirming the strong beat of his heart and the stability of his condition. His brown hair is unbound from the usual rattail he ties behind his head, fanning around his neck.)**

**(In a chair next to the bed, Nobuyuki Masaki has since fallen asleep at his son's bedside. The middle-aged architect snores softly, an arm fallen to the side of the chair. Shrouded in a comforter, the father does not notice the flash of bright white light behind him.)**

**(Ryoko's quiet footsteps approach as her golden eyes fall upon Tenchi's form, his chest rising and falling in his slumber. Longing, heartache, and affection blend into her face when she sits on the side of his bed, his name whispered on her lips. She takes his hand and weds her fingers with his while Tsunami stands silently behind Nobuyuki. Her rosy gaze watches somberly and distantly as Ryoko whispers back to her.)**

**Ryoko:** He tried to stop her, Sasami. He tried to protect me. He...

**(A tear rolls down her cheek when she pauses, regaining her composure.)**

**Ryoko:** … He said he loved me...

**(She grips his hand close, her words firm and set.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm not about to let that _woman_ continue trying to hurt or kill people _I_ care about.

**(She turns back to Tsunami, her face pleading.)**

**Ryoko:** How can _you_?

**(The azure-haired lady lowers her head, shamed with her answer.)**

**Tsunami:** She is my _sister_... I couldn't...

**(Ryoko's eyes harden as she responds.)**

**Ryoko:** Then, _I'll_ do it.

**(Stunned, Tsunami watches the fires dance in Ryoko's eyes, the wrongs done against her.)**

**Ryoko:** She's taken my _mother_, my _sister_, the man I _love_... and _God_ knows what else.

**(Incredulously, Ryoko stands and motions toward the princess.)**

**Ryoko:** Look at what she did to _your real_ sister!

**(Struck, Tsunami holds her arms close while guilt crosses the former pirate's face at her own words. She seats herself on the bed once again, her hands clutching Tenchi's as whispers an apology.)**

**Ryoko:** … I'm sorry... I...

**(The Juraian noble shakes her head, understandingly.)**

**Tsunami:** It's alright...

**(Behind Tsunami, the door opens quietly, allowing light to fall upon the pair. Their attention is drawn to the blonde Nerti Ro standing in the doorway, her figure haloed by the brightness outside. Her grey eyes blink, surprised at the attendees.)**

**Nerti:** I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean...

**(Tsunami shakes her head, turning to the young researcher.)**

**Tsunami:** No, it's alright, Ms Nerti. Please, come inside.

**(Nerti enters, closing the door behind her. She reaches for the light switch, but the princess waves to her.)**

**Tsunami:** No, leave them off.

**(She motions to the sleeping Nobuyuki, and Nerti relents silently. For a moment, Tsunami gazes at the blonde, her eyes distant as she recalls the obsidian shell that protected her against Dark Ayeka's attacks, and how her feet began to coast over the floor of the hangar. With a deep breath, the princess closes her eyes and lowers her chin, her soft words to Ryoko.)**

**Tsunami:** I concede, Ryoko.

**(The cyan-maned woman nods, though Tsunami then turns to her and adds gravely.)**

**Tsunami:** However, I will warn you one last time. This will not be pleasant and will strain your body.

**(Coldly, Ryoko agrees.)**

**Ryoko:** Fine.

**(Tsunami shifts her attention to Nerti again, extending her hand to the blonde.)**

**Tsunami:** Ms Nerti, I'd like you to accompany us.

**(Confused, the researcher raises a brow.)**

**Nerti:** Accompany you? I don't understand.

**Tsunami:** You soon will. Please.

**(Nerti considers this while Ryoko stands, setting Tenchi's hand gently to the bed. She closes her eyes as her lips touch his forehead briefly, affection and longing evident in her eyes. Concerned, and curious, Nerti concedes and approaches.)**

**Nerti:** Okay, but where am I accompanying you to?

**Tsunami:** Not far.

**(Ryoko joins the princess's side when Nerti's hand touches Tsunami's. A spark of crimson and azure shoots between their palms. Both recoil, Nerti surprised while the Juraian gazes at the mild scorch on her skin. She closes her hand, a sigh on her breath as she glances up to the confused blonde. Ryoko's brows furrow while the regal lady resumes.)**

**Tsunami:** I apologize.

**(More cautious, Nerti stands with them as Tsunami's hand waves before them, wrapping them all in white light. Again, this fades and takes them away to another location, Ryoko's current tenement in the MiB headquarters. With a motion of the lady's hand, the lights brighten while she steps toward the bed. Serious, Tsunami spins toward Ryoko and directs her to the bed.)**

**Tsunami:** Please have a seat.

**(Ryoko does as instructed while Tsunami inquires one last time.)**

**Tsunami:** This isn't necessary. Will you reconsider?

**(Ryoko shakes her head, her gaze set.)**

**Ryoko:** Stop stalling, Sasami.

**(The azure-haired woman nods when Nerti advances a step, still unclear.)**

**Nerti:** I still don't understand what's going on here.

**(Tsunami nods, a somber expression on her face.)**

**Tsunami:** I know, but that will change shortly. Please, keep far back. This will be far more unhealthy for you, I believe.

**(Nerti slides away, her back pressing against the far wall while her eyes are fixed on the pair before her. Extending her hand, another of Tsunami's wings appears at her command and wraps upon itself, looping into a circular form in her palm. The brilliance of the celestial construct fades, allowing the silvery color gleam in the light. A lady's bracelet of elegant design, three vines of silver intertwine, blossoming into a trio of flowers that cradle a single crimson gem, just like the one embedded into Nagi's key.)**

**(Tsunami offers this item to Ryoko.)**

**Tsunami:** This will help the process, and aid you adjust to the change.

**(Ryoko accepts and slips it onto her left wrist.)**

**Ryoko:** Got it.

**(The princess takes a step back and takes a settling breath before whispering a hope to her friend.)**

**Tsunami:** Good luck.

**(Ryoko nods, a slight grin to her lips.)**

**Ryoko:** Thanks.

**(Tsunami's arms raise at her sides, brilliant white power gathering into a pair of white orbs, each sparking a bright emerald over their surfaces. A chill rushes through Nerti, recalling a similar scene aboard Liaens's ship: violet talons offering dark orbs with deep crimson sparks. Her grey eyes widen watching as Tsunami's eyes close, the orbs drifting around Ryoko, who takes a slow breath to steady herself.)**

**(The two orbs melt around the Ryoan's body, enveloping her in a soothing porcelain shell. Then, Tsunami closes her hands, shattering the orbs into white and green sparks that arc over Ryoko's form. Pain consumes Ryoko as Jurai's power infuses into her, merging within her being with each passing moment. The gem in the bracelet brightly glows, the light filtering through it, synchronizing with her. Her will keeps her from screaming out until the strain on her becomes too great.)**

**(In that moment, a symbol appears on her forehead, three scarlet discs arranged in a triangular pattern. Tsunami's eyes open wide when between her and Ryoko, two cracks in reality appear and open into full Wings of the Light Hawk. The Ryoan struggles as the wings wrap around her and split along their length, seemingly like the wings of a bird.)**

**(Nerti moves closer, but she encounters a shell of emerald that forcefully repels her back to the wall, crimson and azure bolts sparking over her form. She holds her arms close, confused as she watches helplessly a distance away.)**

**(Soon, the sparks fade from Ryoko's body, as does her consciousness. She slumps onto the bed, the wings around her flickering away shortly afterward. Surprise remains in Tsunami's eyes when she approaches Ryoko and rests a finger on the side of her neck. Seeing her pulse steady, the Juraian takes a calming breath and sighs with a slight grin.)**

**(Nerti cautiously advances, anticipating the barrier. However, she proceeds unimpeded to Tsunami's side, who whispers to herself a familiar line.)**

**Tsunami:** "But, at his side was a Shadow, its blade fierce and bloody. I turned away in fear, but he consoled me. 'Do not fear this Shadow, for it loves the Light as you.'"

**(Nerti glances toward Ryoko's wrist, noting the gleam of the gem fading. She inquires softly.)**

**Nerti:** What was that? I've...

**(She turns to the princess, unease throughout her.)**

**Nerti:** I've seen that before, on Liaens's ship... when...

**(The jade glow shoots across her eyes as she winces. Tsunami somberly completes the blonde's thought while she quickly recovers from the lingering spark of Jezibel.)**

**Tsunami:** … when my sister infused you with her power.

**(Nerti shakes off the effect and processes this information while Tsunami continues.)**

**Tsunami:** That is why you couldn't approach closer or even touch my hand. You are bonded to the pure form of my sister's power, polar to my own.

**(Nerti's eyes pan to her own hands, at odds with the reality.)**

**Nerti:** The NVO energy, within me?

**(Tsunami nods while the young researcher recalls the evidence: her study of the dark power under Jezibel Kimitan, her thoughts merging into Ryo-Ohki's crystal on Jurai, the Ryoan interest in her, the NVO bleeding into Dimension 2718. Her logic quickly accepts this with a slow nod.)**

**Nerti:** … That explains...

**(However, more questions flood her thoughts as she spins back to the Juraian princess.)**

**Nerti:** But, why me? There were several others at the SA that were far more capable as researchers or fighters than me.

**(Carefully, Tsunami extends her hand to the side and summons her viewing orb one last time. Within it, Nerti sees a young woman, strong and proud. Along her arms are two metal blades, each etched elegantly with "Æ". Her long blonde hair falls behind her while her fierce blue eyes gaze back at Nerti with cross-shaped pupils. The researcher looks at her, noting so many similarities while the princess speaks.)**

**Tsunami:** Just as with Ryoko, I can see into you as well, Ms Nerti. Half of you is Pentinian, from your father, Rente Ro, the man who raised you. However, the other side is Proran, from your mother, Amelia Aelins. She is of the same race as Liaens, from their own universe apart from this one.

**(Nerti nods accepting this.)**

**Nerti:** Yes, Will and I deduced that recently. We also know Liaens was in league with Ryua, and probably Tokimi by extension.

**(Sadly, Tsunami agrees.)**

**Tsunami:** True... but I also see farther.

**(The image in the orb shifts to the woman depicted in Liaens's painting, Sophia Aelins. Similar to Nerti and Amelia, Sophia also has blonde hair and blue eyes, her body adorned in bladed combat armor. However, she wields two blades along her arms composed of golden light, weapons that Amelia only wore metal in imitation. Nerti's brows furrow at this woman's figure as the Juraian adds.)**

**Tsunami:** Your lineage includes this woman, Sophia Aelins, among others stretching back generations who wielded a golden power. This is likely the reason you hold such interest for them.

**(Nerti folds her arms, thinking.)**

**Nerti:** But, I've never manifested a power like that.

**(The princess allows the orb to vanish with her reply.)**

**Tsunami:** You may not have known it, but it is likely your body does.

**(She motions to Ryoko.)**

**Tsunami:** The wings you saw a moment ago were not mine, but Ryoko's. No doubt, she never knew of them, but her body reacted when she was in pain. I believe Tenchi to be no different.

**Nerti:** Then, why infuse me with the NVO energy?

**(Tsunami shakes her head.)**

**Tsunami:** I'm not certain now, but I do believe you should be cautious in the coming battle.

**(Nerti grins wryly.)**

**Nerti:** I had no other plans. I'm helping Dr Hakubi man the dual cannon.

**Tsunami:** Then, I ask you to accept a gift from me.

**(Her hand raises as another of her wings cracks open and swirls into a small item upon her palm. Here, the brilliant light dims to reveal a silver lady's ring, inset with a third crimson gem. Composed of flawless silver strands woven into celestial and floral designs, the spherical stone rests amid an embossed star-burst.)**

**(Nerti examines the ring carefully, glancing occasionally to the bracelet on Ryoko's wrist. Tsunami explains.)**

**Tsunami:** This ring, like Ryoko's bracelet, will allow you to focus the power within you more easily, much like the keys of Jurai.

**(Humbled, the blonde shakes her head.)**

**Nerti:** I can't accept this. I'm... I'm just a girl from Pentinon, not a Juraian noble or a Ryoan pirate.

**(The lady nods, a soft smile on her lips.)**

**Tsunami:** Just as Tenchi was just a boy from Earth, or your beloved just a boy from another Earth.

**(Nerti blushes, her eyes drifting to the ring one more time while Tsunami offers again.)**

**Tsunami:** I only ask that you carry it, that it might be there to aid you if you need it. What you do next is your choice.

**(Somberly, she adds.)**

**Tsunami:** Truthfully, I hope you will not need it.

**(A moment passes as Nerti considers this. Ultimately, her fingers take the bauble from Tsunami's hand, careful not to touch her again. She slips the ring onto the ring finger of her right hand and grips her hand, settling it into place. Nerti gently bows to Tsunami.)**

**Nerti:** Thank you, both for the ring and the information.

**(The princess bows respectfully in return.)**

**Tsunami:** I hope you find answers to your questions, and a remedy to the jade glow.

**(The two rise as Nerti responds.)**

**Nerti:** So do I.

**(The Juraian motions to the door, a warm expression on her face.)**

**Tsunami:** You should rest, and be with your beloved.

**(Nerti glances back to Ryoko.)**

**Nerti:** What about her?

**Tsunami:** I'll watch over her. Don't worry.

**(Reluctantly, Nerti accepts this and slips out the door, waving one last goodbye to the Juraian princess. Outside, the blonde finds Pii approaching. Her face brightens at his approach before the two embrace. While he inquires about the ring, Tsunami shuts the door, sealing herself with Ryoko.)**

**(Then, the Juraian lady faints, collapsing to one knee. Her breath deepens as sweat beads on her face, a strain evident in her. She pushes herself back to her feet and quickly finds a chair in which to sit and catch her breath. Shortly, she closes her eyes and wipes her hand across her forehead, the symbol there flickering and warm.)**

Scene 5 – The Daughter of Aelins

**(Nervously, Nerti stands at a railing of the hangar dock, gazing up into the moonlit night sky. The fingers of her left hand fidget the ring on her right ring-finger, tracing its engravings and spherical gem. Tsunami's words regarding the ring, as well as the blonde, flow through the thoughts of the former student.)**

**(Behind her, Washu slips from the chair of the modified dimensional cannon. Newly added, Tetta and Tessei's staves are encapsulated in containers on either side of the weapon, wired into its primary systems. The researcher glances at the workmanship before she casts her gaze over to the student. She approaches and softly inquires.)**

**Washu:** Worried about them, Nerti?

**(Nerti turns her eyes to the ring and nods silently. Washu smiles slightly, resting a hand on the blonde's forearm.)**

**Washu:** You're not the only one.

**(Curiously, Nerti's grey eyes meet the green of Washu's as the scientist continues, a knowing grin on her lips.)**

**Washu:** All of us have had someone to worry about.

**(Her emerald gaze lowers, introspectively.)**

**Washu:** Even if it's been a few centuries.

**(Surprised, Nerti blinks, her voice a whisper.)**

**Nerti:** Doctor...

**(Washu shakes her head and corrects her.)**

**Washu:** It's just "Washu", Nerti.

**(Before the student can reply, a tone catches the attention of both and directs it toward the dual cannon. The pair return to the weapon when Washu raises a hand, summoning a quartet of windows. Each of these carries a live video feed from a different vessel already in flight: Kiyone and J aboard Yagami, Mihoshi and K' aboard Hayato, Yosho and Azaka aboard Funaho, and Pii aboard Caroki. Washu scans across all the faces and asks.)**

**Washu:** In position?

**(Yosho nods.)**

**Yosho:** Ready. And you?

**(Gravely, Washu answers.)**

**Washu:** As we can be. Remember. She'll have to be stationary for ten seconds before we can lock on and fire.

**(Uneasy, K' raises a brow.)**

**K':** That's a long time in a dog fight.

**(Kiyone agrees, her blue eyes focused.)**

**Kiyone:** True, but consider how she's fought us so far. She tends to stand in one place, lashing out with her power. She teleports occasionally, but only when its advantageous.

**(J adds, his eyes already on the fire controls before him.)**

**J:** Yeah, and we're not going to have someone with a sword mixing it up with her. We keep our distance, and she shouldn't 'port.

**(Mihoshi remains silent, her naïve eyes tainted with solemnity while Azaka contributes.)**

**Azaka:** Given her reactions to most of our attacks, she will not feel threatened, save for Funaho's armament.

**Yosho:** Which we will use to herd her into the kill-zone of the dual cannon.

**(Worry bleeds into Nerti's grey eyes, directed at the Terran hunter.)**

**Nerti:** Will those ships will give them enough armor for this fight?

**(Concern filters into Pii's eyes behind his visor while Washu answers.)**

**Washu:** Funaho is really the only one well-equipped to handle her NVO energies. I have modified a few of the pseudo-Jurai generators to coordinate with the defensive grid of each ship, but this is still a partial solution.

**(Pii smirks to himself, his attention on Nerti as he speaks.)**

**Pii:** Better than nothing.

**(Above Manhattan Island, the two GP patrol-ships silently float at either end of the strip of land. Caroki and Funaho wait a distance away over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Already, storm clouds are gathering above, lightning flashing in the distance. Aboard the Juraian ship, Yosho and Azaka face the images of their allies, each holding their respective key in hand: Yosho Tenchiken and Azaka the blue staff. The prince turns to the image of the hunter and questions him.)**

**Yosho:** Ready?

**(Pii takes a deep, slow breath and answers.)**

**Pii:** Let's do this.

**(In the hangar, Nerti clasps her hands watching while Washu climbs into the control chair of the cannon. Several translucent displays appear with the status of the weapon. Quickly, the genius surveys them all and enters the commands to bring the device online.)**

**(The barrel squeals as it widens and rises to bear. A thin laser emits from the end of the machine and through the open hangar doors above. Outside, it suddenly arcs toward the horizon, bent by an unseen force. The HUD system wraps around Washu's head, giving her telemetry and targeting information.)**

**(Coolly, the genius addresses the student with her.)**

**Washu:** Nerti, check the status of the staves.

**(Nerti's attention spins to Washu, who motions to the newly added panel near the base of the weapon. The blonde glances at it while the senior researcher adds.)**

**Washu:** Keep busy. Help him that way.

**(A moment passes, Nerti taking a careful breath of her own. Her eyes then focus as she agrees and quickly attends her appointed post. In the skies, Caroki escorts Funaho toward Manhattan between the waiting GP patrol-ships while J calls over the communication system.)**

**J:** Here we go.

**(The Juraian vessel and the Pentinian fighter cast searchlights down into the bare streets of the city below. Silence pervades the environs while all wait for a sign of Ryoshu-Tokimi's presence. K' watches anxiously, idly commenting to Mihoshi.)**

**K':** Odd that Zed's letting us do an aerial search. Even though the city has been evacuated after the last skirmish, this is pretty overt for the MiB.

**(Mihoshi nods while she searches in kind.)**

**Mihoshi:** Yeah, but he's pretty smart. He might have a way to spin all this into something terrestrial.

**(K' purses his lips and ponders for a moment.)**

**K':** Like a terrorist attack...?

**(However, his conversation is cut off by the horrified expression on Mihoshi's face as she gazes at the monitor. The young agent follows her eyes and soon sees what all the others have found, sending an icy chill through his spine.)**

**(Funaho and Caroki both halt and hover over Times Square, their spotlights trained on Ryoshu-Tokimi below. Her eyes are hidden beneath the shadow of her brows in the flood of brightness, and her gown billows around her with a subtle breeze, which is growing in strength. Aboard Funaho, Yosho steps forward and speaks, his calm and respectful voice projected via an external sound system.)**

**Yosho:** Lady Tokimi, sister of Lady Tsunami, there has been a great deal of pain for both sides, no doubt untold from you personally.

**(A single tear rolls down Ryoshu-Tokimi's cheek as the crimson and azure glow appears in her eyes, the leafy Mark of Rage scrawling across her neck, cheeks, and chest.)**

**Yosho:** This doesn't have to end in violence, Lady Tokimi.

**(In a flash, she darts upward, pausing briefly to face Funaho's bow. The Juraian display quickly relocate her and display her face for all the others to see, a cold and bitter glare. Black flames envelope her hand as she directs it at Funaho, soon exploding forth to smash against the craft's defensive screen. Blue and red sparks arc over the surface of the spherical barrier, physically deforming it at the point of impact.)**

**(Aboard, Yosho and Azaka steady themselves while alert sirens scream the tree-ship's pain. Immediately, the other three vessels rocket forward, emerald beams rising from their weapons at the dark woman. A whoosh of broken air follows her as she vanishes from sight, alleviating Funaho's shields and escaping the crossfire.)**

**(Within Hayato, Mihoshi and K' are startled when the ship lurches. Quickly, the GP detective's hands race across her console. A window opens and flashes quickly, showing several exterior views of the hull, until one along the dorsal side finds Ryoshu-Tokimi standing within a dent in the structure. Mihoshi cries out to the others while K' enters commands of his own.)**

**Mihoshi:** Oh my God! She's on us!

**(Around Ryoshu-Tokimi, a pair of exterior cannons rise and spin to face her, both controlled by K'. The Terran sweeps his hand across the panel before him, causing weapons to charge green, faux Jurai energy readying to fire. He scowls at the Ryoan, his words spiteful.)**

**K':** Take this, bitch.

**(His palm slams into the panel, firing both weapons. However, the brilliant power washes over a barrier around the woman while she, maintaining her icy glare, stands unmoved. A Light Hawk Wing appears at her side and extends next to the bridge of the ship, like a great sword. Kiyone gasps and screams out to her partner when the blade slices cleanly through the hull of Hayato, severing the bridge from the drive.)**

**Kiyone:** _Mihoshi_!!

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi vanishes from Hayato's hull, letting the two pieces fall toward the earth below. The engines soon fail, the drive section beginning to tumble. Fear consumes both Mihoshi and K' as they see the flickering monitor display the rapidly approaching ground. Frantically, the blonde detective enters commands into the control system. In a flash of white, the pair vanishes when the bow of Hayato slams into the Manhattan Bay. Behind it, the drive section crashes into the beach, soon coming to rest after destroying several private docks.)**

**(A flash of white delivers Mihoshi and K' onto Yagami's bridge, behind Kiyone and J. The blonde immediately grips Kiyone's command chair, tears already filling her eyes.)**

**Mihoshi:** Kiyone! She just cut Hayato in half!

**(K' catches his breath and takes a moment to regain his bearings, disoriented from the teleport. J spins to the other MiB agent and Mihoshi before he turns to Kiyone. The teal-tressed detective answers him quickly while she scans the screens before her.)**

**Kiyone:** Short-range, site-to-site teleport system. Do you see her?

**(Mihoshi, J, and K' also direct their attention to the screens when an explosion outside violently shakes the craft. Mihoshi screeches, clutching Kiyone's chair while K' is forced to kneel to maintain his footing. Kiyone and J brace themselves when alarms whine and flash red light around the quartet. The pilot quickly looks up and sees a window open with a schematic of Yagami, the starboard engine flashing a scarlet "X" over it. She curses as her hands claw at the console before her.)**

**Kiyone:** Dammit! We've lost the starboard engine.

**(J glances up to see the cityscape approaching. K' notes this too and shakes his head with a wry comment.)**

**K':** … Not again...

**(Struggling, Kiyone draws her hands back along the console, causing the descent to slow. Outside, Yagami arcs her path as she falls toward Times Square. Kiyone grits her teeth as her arms strain against the feedback of the controls. However, another set of hands covers hers and pull. Kiyone glances aside to see Mihoshi pulling with her, one foot on the bulkhead to help. Together, the partners cry out and force the system to comply.)**

**(Yagami impacts the asphalt of Times Square, leaving a small crater before skidding along the street, carving a gouge in the well-known boulevard. The GP patrol-ship halts amongst abandoned cars and debris from the earlier battle, her starboard engine ripped apart and smoking black.)**

**(Above the fallen ship, Ryoshu-Tokimi coldly gazes down at fallen craft when more emerald weaponry rains upon her. She turns her glare toward Pii's Caroki racing toward her, its weapons trained on her. The Ryoan figure darts away when a separate volley flies from Funaho. Further, a coherent beam of azure scorches the night sky ahead of Ryoshu-Tokimi. Her eyes narrow before she vanishes again.)**

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho and Azaka both search the displays around them for their enemy. The knight holds his staff close at the ready while the prince grips the Tenchiken key tightly. Alarms draw their attention toward a single display on Funaho's hull. There, the dark woman appears and lands on the hull gracefully, her eyes set on the camera, well-aware of their alert.)**

**(Her claws blaze with black power when Azaka spins toward her image, his staff's headpiece flaring a brilliant azure. Outside, Ryoshu-Tokimi notes an orb of blue appear near her and grow quickly, ready to burst at her. However, she directs her flaming claws and unleashes her power, smothering Azaka's in a tide of black and crimson.)**

**(A section of the bridge blows out near Azaka, sending him flying into the central tree with a dull thud. Yosho spins toward him, but the sirens around him take priority. Smoke fills the pure air of the arboretum, filling the lungs of the noble prince. He coughs, but keeps his attention clearly on Ryoshu-Tokimi. His violet eyes glare back into hers as he speaks.)**

**Yosho:** Jettison that panel and target it.

**(A chime from the tree acknowledges him as the panel under the Ryoan pops free from the hull and flies away from the Juraian craft. Around Funaho, blue bolts rise from the ship and encircle her before shooting toward the Ryoan woman. She kicks away from the section of hull, raking her claws toward her enemy. In this motion, crimson lashes extend from her fingertips, snapping at the incoming munitions.)**

**(These violently react, exploding and sending shock-waves to both Funaho and Caroki. Aboard the fighter, Pii holds tight to his controls and weathers the event, reacquiring his target lock on Ryoshu-Tokimi. She turns toward him and regards him silently for a moment when his ship flies at her again, weapons belching pulses of pseudo-Jurai energy. However, she merely slips from side to side, effortlessly and passively avoiding his offense.)**

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho helps Azaka to his feet, the knight wincing. The knight glances to the image of Pii firing and nods to the prince. The grandfather concurs silently as he turns to the communication window to Washu with one definitive word.)**

**Yosho:** _Now_!!

**(At MiB headquarters, Washu turns the manual grips for the last safety of the dual cannon. Her fingers rest on the triggers while her emerald eyes are set on Ryoshu-Tokimi's image in the sights before her. She calls below to Nerti at her station below.)**

**Washu:** Full infusion from the staves!

**(Nerti's hands dance across her console, causing the dark keys to shine a bright crimson. The blonde answers, turning her eyes to the ethereal weapons.)**

**Nerti:** NVO flow at 100%!

**(Washu watches the gauges before her grow and vibrate briefly at their maximum. She clicks one trigger and the entire weapon rumbles as another gauge rises quickly.)**

**Washu:** Pseudo-Jurai at 100%! Firing... _now_!!

**(She depresses the other trigger and the maw of the cannon floods with black and white energies. The chamber quakes at this fearful light when the blended powers rage forth from the weapon. A fiery beam of spiraling power arcs up and out of the hangar and rockets for the skies over Manhattan. Around the cylindrical construct, space distorts, drawing small particles close and burning them in flames of red and blue.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi looks toward the incoming beam, a brow raised. Caroki breaks off her attack, joining Funaho in flying away from the intended target. A Light Hawk Wing appears between the Ryoan and the blast and takes the impact. The beam divides, spilling all around the godlike shield.)**

**(However, the wing starts to fade in and out of existence, spurring a scowl on the Ryoan's brow. She glances aside as her eyes burn a deep crimson. Her lips part with a single word on her harmonious voice.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Awaken.

**(Elsewhere, Nerti recoils from her post and clutches her head. Washu spins to face the student while the cackle of the jade-eyed Jezibel Kimitan once more echoes through the corridors of the blonde's mind. The genius can see the fear written on Nerti's face as her eyes plead back to the professor. The knowing and somber voice of the scientist remarks.)**

**Washu:** And now, the ace in the hole...

**(The student collapses to her knees when her eyes flash green, but then immediately shift to red and blue, matching Ryoshu-Tokimi's. Quickly, Washu raises a hand at her side, summoning her phantom laptop with data on Nerti's condition. In particular, one reading spikes clear and true: "NVO: 88.2%". Also, another reading is of note: "???? 2: 11.1%". A keystroke places a translucent barrier around Nerti, isolating her from the instruments in the room. Another sends a dart from the distance at the blonde, no doubt tipped with the same paralytic used on Ayeka. However, after passing through the barrier easily, the dart ricochets off another, darker barrier around Nerti.)**

**(The student's head droops, her hair masking her glowing eyes with a dark shadow. She rises back to her feet and extends her arm to the side, allowing her scythe's hilt to slip free. The blonde grasps it, letting the weapon expand to its full deadly glory as her glowing eyes rise to meet Washu's. The scythe clangs against the barrier while the redheaded Ryoan watches her impromptu student. Yet, as a obsidian mark scrawls itself down the right side of Nerti's face, she opens her free hand, drawing black energy into an orb. Gripping this forms a broadsword which deftly cuts through the impediment.)**

**(The genius waves her laptop aside and quickly slides out of the chair when Nerti's feet leave the ground, propelling her at the closest dark staff. She cleaves the container in twain and darts to do similarly to the other before she flies up into the sky, a far distance from the machine.)**

**(The black powers of the staves bleed out of the broken canisters a moment before they wink from existence. Washu turns her attention up to the weapon as the Light and Dark energy violently rupture and deform the device. Quickly, the genius enters a command into her laptop, causing the Ryoan to vanish. In a grand wave, destruction explodes from the dual cannon, ripping its structure and all those nearby asunder.)**

**(The dual beam quickly fades away, allowing Ryoshu-Tokimi to release her Light Hawk Wing. She turns toward Funaho and Caroki. Aboard the Juraian ship, Yosho and Azaka view the static that was once Washu's screen. They turn to Ryoshu-Tokimi and see the two dark staves appear flanking her, both pulsing crimson.)**

**(On Yagami below, the GP and MiB personnel right themselves, their injuries superficial, but soon also come to face the monitor before them. There, they see Ryoshu-Tokimi floating above them, still powerful and unbeaten. J's brows furrow as he questions this.)**

**J:** What the hell just happened? We _had_ her!

**(Kiyone's eyes fall on the staves, her tone grave.)**

**Kiyone:** Considering she has those two staves, I don't think the dual cannon is an option anymore.

**(Wary, K' glances to Kiyone and J.)**

**K':** What's our move now?

**(Mihoshi's eyes widen as she points at the monitor, drawing their attention to a second figure coming into view.)**

**Mihoshi:** Look! Is that...?!

**(Kiyone closes her eyes somberly while J curses under his breath.)**

**J:** Shit... not her too...

**(Above, Yosho and Azaka react in kind, their stoic silence expressing enough of their disappointment with this new event. Aboard Caroki, Pii's breath is stolen while his body becomes cold gazing at Nerti flying to Ryoshu-Tokimi's side. With her scythe extended, the blonde's deadly beauty gleams in the moonlight, her eyes brimming with the same crimson and azure as her mistress's. Her left hand burns with a black broadsword, evidence of her connection to this shadowy force. Behind the pair, a bolt of lightning strikes with a peele of thunder when raindrops begin to fall on them and the opposing vessels.)**

**(The surprise in Pii's face soon melts into an enraged scowl as he turns Caroki's weapon array to target Ryoshu-Tokimi. Over the external speaker system, Pii's voice barks at the Ryoan woman, his demand quite clear.)**

**Pii:** _Let her go_!!

**(Coldly, Ryoshu-Tokimi slides her regal gaze to the Pentinian ship, her narrowed eyes considering him in the silence of the moment. The Terran's hands grip the controls of his ship as he pulls them back toward his body.)**

**(At this, the side panels of his fighter open, revealing two mechanical arms. The rear thrusters swing down as the arms curl out at the sides of the cockpit. A reinforced shell extends over the cockpit as the craft reconfigures itself into a humanoid form. The storage compartment slides up along the back of this robotic form as a head emerges from the cockpit section, two eye cameras clearly visible on the appendage.)**

**(Newly transformed, Caroki flexes its mechanical grip before raising its arms toward Ryoshu-Tokimi. Along each forearm is a section from the weapon array, carrying pseudo-Jurai generators. Again, Pii repeats his ultimatum.)**

**Pii:** _Now, goddammit_!!

**(Aboard Yagami, J blinks, recognizing the robotic form from the skirmish with over a year ago.)**

**J:** A mech-suit?

**(Concerned, Kiyone speaks toward Pii's image on her monitors.)**

**Kiyone:** Pii, what are you doing?

**(K' comments.)**

**K':** His file said specifically that he _wasn't_ certified for mecha combat...

**(Kiyone adds, her attention on the hunter.)**

**Kiyone:** Don't do anything rash. Consider your enemy here.

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho looses a frustrated sigh and surveys the situation as Azaka also speaks to the young man's communication window.)**

**Azaka:** Ms Nerti is under the Matron's control. If you take rash action, she might intervene on the Enemy's behalf.

**(Beneath his visor, Pii's brows furrow with a vengeful anger. His hands grip tightly around the manipulating yokes of his mecha while his targeting reticle flashes over Ryoshu-Tokimi's calm and focused demeanor.)**

**(Meanwhile, the Matron of Ryua speaks simply in her celestial harmony to her involuntary servant.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Push him. Repel all who interfere.

**(Nerti takes a breath, her eyes closing for a moment. They then pop open as she darts toward Caroki, toward Pii. He grits his teeth as he depresses the triggers beneath his thumbs, unleashing a volley of emerald bolts at Ryoshu-Tokimi. However, the Ryoan merely waves her hand aside, lashing out with crimson whips of her power to neutralize the threat.)**

**(Nerti releases her black saber and draws her scythe back to strike at the blue Pentinian mech. Within, Pii sinks into his seat, his feet slamming down into pedals on the deck. The robotic figure floats back and away from the young woman. He flips one control stick aside and pushes it forward, causing Caroki's right arm to sweep up to guard.)**

**(The blonde's scythe swings upward, cutting into the armor around the mecha's arm. Sparks and fluid are expelled around the curved blade while Caroki's left hand rises to grab Nerti. She slashes out at the hand, knocking it away as the mecha nears a building. Noting this, she spins away just as the Pentinian craft smashes into the side of a skyscraper.)**

**(Within, Pii is jarred and glances to his rear-view displays. There, he sees the broken concrete and glass against the camera. Cursing under his breath, he turns back to the main display, where Nerti cooly gazes at him. The rain mats her hair while he addresses her, a plea in his words.)**

**Pii:** _Nerti_!! It's _me_, _Will_!

**(Her eyes close for a moment, a wince seen in her. However, she advances toward him, her feet walking on the empty air. Pulling at the controls, Pii spurs Caroki to free itself from the building while he calls to his blonde counterpart.)**

**Pii:** This isn't _you_!!

**(The blonde's eyes open icily before she rushes him, blade at the ready. Caroki rockets upward, Nerti following closely behind. Elsewhere, Yosho raises Tenchiken toward the image of Ryoshu-Tokimi, the hilt's crest glowing a deep violet. Her eyes turn toward him while he quietly asks of Azaka.)**

**Yosho:** If we stop her, what becomes of the girl?

**(Azaka likewise infuses his power into his staff with his answer.)**

**Azaka:** Depends on the backlash from the controller.

**(A glare crosses Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes as she raises her hand toward Funaho, black fire already enveloping it. Yosho's gaze widens when he issues his order to the Juraian ship.)**

**Yosho:** Evasive, 1.4 port!

**(The vessel complies and flies toward Ryoshu-Tokimi's right, out of the enemy's line of sight. However, the darkness around her hand flares forward and manifests into a draconic form. After a moment's pause to coalesce, the beast shoots at Funaho, roaring with its teeth and claws extended.)**

**(Without hesitation, Azaka whirls to face this foe, his power gathering just outside the hull of Funaho. Yet, before he unleashes his power, a barrage of green light flies from below and critically wounds the beast. The Juraians and Ryoshu-Tokimi turn to see turrets on Yagami's hull aimed up at the dark woman.)**

**(Within, J and K' sit at the pilot and copilot seats, targeting systems set on their opponent. Kiyone and Mihoshi open the door behind them, the teal-tressed detective issuing a firm command.)**

**Kiyone:** Keep that cover fire on her. It should distract her.

**(J calls back.)**

**J:** You two watch each other's backs.

**(The GP duo nod as they exit.)**

**Kiyone:** Always.

**(The door seals behind them while K' takes a calming breath. J addresses his colleague softly, his focus still on the enemy above.)**

**J:** You got this?

**(K' narrows his eyes and sights his reticle on Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**K':** I was a tank commander.

**(He softens his voice and adds.)**

**K':** It's been an honor, Agent J.

**(J shakes his head and motions toward the screen.)**

**J:** I ain't heard no "fat lady"! Now, keep on your business, K.

**(K' nods with a genuine smile edging across his lips.)**

**K':** Roger that.

**(Outside, Yagami's bay doors open, and two GP power armors fly out, one blue and the other red. Within the blue one, Kiyone sets her course for the skirmish between Caroki and Nerti. In the red, Mihoshi follows her partner, casting a wary glance toward Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**(The Ryoan glances at this pair but sweeps her attention back to the Juraian vessel and the downed GP patrol-ship below. She raises her claws, spurring a barrage from both sites. The woman promptly vanishes from sight. Aboard Yagami, J and K' scan the skies for her, but are jarred when the ship shakes violently. Alert lights flash across their consoles before a display opens, showing Ryoshu-Tokimi on their hull.)**

**(There, the Matron of Ryua carves deep gashes into the ship with her crimson whips, smashing not only the turrets, but also the conduits feeding them. J slams his fist into the arm of Kiyone's chair as he curses.)**

**J:** _Shit_!!

**(From above, two blasts of Jurai power fly down at the dark woman, one white and the other blue. She glares at these when a Light Hawk Wing appears to defend her. The two pulses slash over the shield-like construct harmlessly before it points at Funaho. The wing then sharpens itself into a blade's shape before it shoots up at the tree-ship.)**

**(Aboard Funaho, Yosho quickly commands his vessel.)**

**Yosho:** _Evade_!!

**(The ship begins to move, but the wing soon punches through the hull, cutting a clean path into the deck of the bridge. Both men roll aside when the ethereal weapon slices through the floor and heads for the central tree. However, Tsunami's imagery of the squall appears on the tree's trunk, and the blade slows its progress. The Juraians watch as the wing continues, seeming to struggle onward to its target.)**

**(Yosho stands and summons Tenchiken's blue blade. He draws the sword to strike at the shield, but a force from the construct pushes both him and Azaka away. In that moment, the wing breaks free from Funaho's resistance and cuts into the great Juraian tree.)**

**(Alarms scream throughout the ship, and red messages scrawl along the message windows around the pair. The prince takes a sharp breath as he feels the deck lurch beneath his feet. The Light Hawk Wing fades away when all begins to fall.)**

**(Outside, Funaho descends helplessly toward the awaiting city below. The Battery Park facade of the MiB headquarters awaits when the tree-ship plummets downward to its concrete walls. The craft smashes through these, imbedding itself into the earth. A shockwave from the crash shakes the nearby structures, shattering both glass and stone.)**

**(Rain falls around Ryoshu-Tokimi as she coldly turns her attention back to her blonde servant. Mihoshi gasps and pauses her flight toward Nerti and Caroki. Kiyone glances aside, her eyes widening, but continues forward.)**

**Kiyone:** God...!

**(Ahead of her, Nerti's scythe clashes against the mechanical hands of Caroki. From within, Pii continues to call to her.)**

**Pii:** You fought Jezibel and _won_, Nerti! You _can_ break this too!!

**(Kiyone's blue power armor reaches Nerti and aims her arm cannon at the blonde's back. The weapon's muzzle brake opens as she addresses the controlled young woman.)**

**Kiyone:** If you can, stand down, Nerti Ro.

**(Pii turns his gaze toward Kiyone while Nerti glances over her shoulder. The communication windows before the hunter close before two new ones open, one to each of Kiyone and Mihoshi's armors. With a sigh, the teal-tressed detective shakes her head at the hunter.)**

**Kiyone:** Your mecha piloting skills need work.

**(Pii scoffs, commenting.)**

**Pii:** I'll look into it.

**(Nerti's eyes narrow before she draws her scythe close and kicks away from Caroki's hands. She spins around toward Kiyone, blade at the ready. However, the detective darts away, her targeting reticle set on the blade of the blonde's weapon.)**

**(A flash from the armor's barrel sends a pulse of light at Nerti, yet it ricochets off a spherical barrier surrounding her. Kiyone scowls and veers hard to her right while the scythe slices through her former location. Nerti follows the detective's trajectory until Caroki reaches for her. She then turns away, rolling herself around her staff.)**

**(Soon, Nerti emerges from her escape and faces Caroki. She aligns her scythe's pole along her left arm as she gathers black power into her hand, again forming that obsidian broadsword. The mecha grabs at her again, but she swoops close and stabs the dark blade into the machine's chest. Within, Pii quickly slides aside, dodging the black edge as it punches through the console next to him.)**

**(Pii raises his eyes to meet hers, seeing the passionless gaze in them. However, as the rain drips down her face, he sees a crimson tear roll from her eye and down her cheek. A flash of lightning highlights her form when a spark of gold shoots through the red and blue enveloping her eyes. For this moment, she winces. He calls to her softly.)**

**Pii:** Nerti, wake up... _please_...

**(A volley of yellow bolts smash into the barrier protecting her. This immediately breaks her attention from Pii to Mihoshi a distance below. The cold expression retakes Nerti's face as she pulls the sword from Caroki's hull and quickly darts toward Mihoshi.)**

**(The detective's blue eyes open widely while she fires again and again at the coming foe. Each ricochets away from the protective shell. Kiyone purses her lips as she dives down, aiming herself for Nerti, but the scythe-wielding woman reaches Mihoshi and thrusts with the black blade.)**

**(Mihoshi dodges, her frantic cries heard on both Kiyone and Pii's systems. The blonde GP detective swings her arm cannon's barrel at Nerti, but her opponent flips up and over her armor, stopping close behind. In a single swipe, the black sword cuts through the small mecha's propulsion systems, leaving Mihoshi to fall toward the ground below.)**

**(Kiyone cries out to her partner as she darts past Nerti and grabs her partner's hand. Mihoshi's panicked breath calms as she looks up to see Kiyone's red suit easing her safely to the ground. Then, her eyes widen in fear when a flash of lightning illuminates Nerti standing behind Kiyone, sword drawn back to thrust.)**

**Mihoshi:** _Kiyone, behind you_!!

**(The black blade slices through metal and flesh alike before it emerges from the left shoulder of the red GP mecha. Kiyone gasps in pain, her eyes sliding down to see the energy weapon jutting out of her body. Mihoshi screams while Nerti pulls the weapon back and floats away in silence. The blonde GP officer cradles her partner, calling to her.)**

**Mihoshi:** _Kiyone_!! Kiyone, talk to me!!

**(The obsidian blade vanishes from Nerti's hand before she takes the scythe firmly in her hands again. Already, Caroki descends, but the manipulated young woman darts up at the Pentinian vehicle, the curved blade ready once more.)**

**(Danger gone, Mihoshi quickly sheds her power armor and attends to the hatch of Kiyone's. Soon enough, she sees the marred metal, cloth, and flesh of the sword wound. The blonde detective pulls her partner free and eases her to the ground, worry filling her eyes.)**

**Mihoshi:** Oh my God...

**(Kiyone reaches her hand toward her wound, her eyes closed with the agony of the injury. Mihoshi takes her partner's hand in hers while the teal-tressed officer whispers in gasps.)**

**Kiyone:** Can't... breathe...

**(The blonde scans over the sliced flesh, noting the lack of blood flow. She takes a few breaths and calms herself, focus coming to her blue eyes.)**

**Mihoshi:** She punctured your lung, I think... but it's cauterized...

**(Kiyone shakes her head.)**

**Kiyone:** She wasn't going... for a kill stroke...

**Mihoshi:** We need to get you inside... _now_...

**(The injured woman agrees as her partner carefully helps her up to her feet. Together, the pair approach Yagami.)**

**(Above, Nerti swipes at Caroki, but the mecha raises a metal hand to defend. The blue and red in her eyes burns brightly as she cuts cleanly through this appendage. Immediately, she readies a second strike for the mecha's chest, the cockpit. The other hand comes at her, but a spinning strike rends the fingers from their joints. Nerti whirls and kicks the palm away before she swings the scythe to cut through the weapons array of the other arm.)**

**(Alarms sound around Pii as he watches his love turn to face him once again. He shoves the controls away from his body, and the vessel around him creaks with the sound of metal grinding against metal. An error message appears in his HUD: "Transformation System Failure". He curses when he glances up to Nerti's lethal beauty.)**

**Pii:** Dammit...!

**(She darts forward at Caroki, blade ready to strike. Quickly, Pii slams his fist into a red panel near his head. The panel breaks, revealing a button that is depressed from the impact. Outside, bolts blast free around the head camera, jettisoning the component. The hunter's seat races upward on a set of rails, shooting him away from the mecha before Nerti's scythe cuts through the chassis of the cockpit.)**

**(While the robotic form falls, Pii kicks away from his seat as his armor's wings open. The jets ignite and send him toward Ryoshu-Tokimi. With a twist of his right wrist, his laser weapon emerges, as does the rifle. He sweeps his hand back and locks the triggers of both weapons together and aims them both at his enemy, the targeting reticle in his visor already setting on her.)**

**(However, the sing of sharp metal catches his ear, and he spins his trajectory away, just dodging Nerti's scythe blade. He recovers and faces Nerti again. Torn, he opens the buckler on his left gauntlet, shaking his head.)**

**Pii:** Why...?

**(He glares at Ryoshu-Tokimi and barks at her.)**

**Pii:** Why are you _doing_ this, you sadistic _bitch_?!

**(The dark woman floats silently, unmoved while Nerti rushes Pii, scythe ready. Quickly, he blocks her scythe with the buckler and spins away. Again, his luminous weapons come to bear on the Ryoan woman. He fires two coherent beams of light at her, but they are deflected by her invisible barrier, just like with Nerti.)**

**(The blonde then slices through the rifle before swiping at his head. Pii's eyes widen as his engines flame out, letting him fall and dodge the blade. Extending his fingers and straightening his arm, the laser gauntlet opens and slides off his forearm.)**

**(He tumbles and rolls onto a nearby roof. Soon, he rises to his feet and slides aside as Nerti lands and cuts into the concrete floor with her blade. Pii looks at her somberly before he reaches to his remaining gauntlet and draws his own sword.)**

**Pii:** Nerti... please...

**(Rain patters on the roof and vents around them while Nerti stands and faces him, her scythe gleaming with each flash of lightning. Her eyes burn with crimson and azure light beneath her dripping, blonde locks of hair. However, an arc of gold crosses her eyes, bringing a wince to her face. Nearby, Ryoshu-Tokimi descends, watching both with interest.)**

**(Pii glances toward the Ryoan, spurring Nerti to advance on him with fleet steps. He reacts by leaping into the air, igniting his pack to fly away. She follows, levitating after him with her pole close at hand.)**

**(In moments, she reaches him and spins toward him, blade extended. Likewise, he turns and blocks with his sword and shield. However, she thrusts downward, sending them both at the ground below. He struggles against her blade, arcing their trajectory parallel to the street below. As the two pass, their wake shakes and shatters windows, bursting glass behind them.)**

**(Soon, they near Times Square. Here, Pii rotates, twirling himself and Nerti apart into the "Y"-shaped split of the road. He rights himself and slows, his boots soon resting on the asphalt. The Terran catches his breath in time to hear the clatter of Nerti's own footwear against the road. He spins around in time to knock her blade away with his buckler.)**

**(Lightning strikes and highlights the pair as the blonde's blade and pole are deflected by the hunter's sword and shield. He rolls aside, dodging her blade while the rain pounds down upon them. Still, he jumps to his feet and backs away, pleading to her.)**

**Pii:** Nerti, listen to me! Hear my voice!!

**(Another golden spark shoots across her eyes while she swings her reaping blade at him again. He blocks with his sword, continuing.)**

**Pii:** _Look at me, Nerti_!!

**(The spark rises again as she bears her teeth and strains her muscles, pushing him away. Metal clashes when her blade meets his buckler, but soon her pole rends his feet from the ground. He topples and rolls aside, but her swift blade cuts into his left shoulder. He recoils, crying out at the injury.)**

**(Still, as gold fights with the crimson and azure in her eyes, her pole knocks away his sword, allowing her blade to swing around his neck. He gasps, his breath in his throat when she stops. Pii's gaze meets hers, the golden power becoming brilliant in its duel with the invading control of the Matron. Her hands shake while he releases his breath watching her. Softly, he whispers again.)**

**Pii:** Nerti... fight her...!

**(A sob rises from her lips as she winces, her true personality struggling.)**

**Nerti:** … I _can't_...!!

**(He insists, tears rolling down his cheeks in the rain around them.)**

**Pii:** You _can_...!!

**(Tears of blood appear at the edges of her eyes as she cries to him.)**

**Nerti:** Stop me, Will... _please_...!!

**Pii:** Nerti...!!

**(She lifts her scythe from around his neck and kicks him away. He gathers himself as she slides closer, her blade scooping toward his belly. He steps back, raising his sword to block, but her weapon rises fast and hooks around the hilt of his sword. She releases one hand and grabs his, drawing it close, the tip of his sword at her chest.)**

**(Pii's eyes widen in horror, his body cold when a flash of lightning glints off their blades intertwined between them. Remorsefully, Nerti whispers back to him, the golden light in her eyes now burning brightly.)**

**Nerti:** Live for me, Will Pii...

**(A sad smile crosses her lips.)**

**Nerti:** I love you...

**(He screams for her while she pulls the blade and plunges it into the center of her chest. For a moment, her eyes widen, startled at the pain, but soon the life fades from her face and body. Pii releases his sword and wraps his arms around her. The hunter kneels on the ground with her in his grasp, cries flowing from his lips.)**

**(Aboard Yagami, Mihoshi and J look up in a respectful silence from bandaging Kiyone's wounds. The teal-tressed officer herself lifts her weak gaze to the event displayed on the monitor nearby. K' grips his hands tightly, cursing under his breath.)**

**(Within MiB headquarters, Washu's phantom laptop shows her the happenings, her measurements streaming in other open windows. However, the researcher's gaze falls sadly upon her impromptu student.)**

**(On Funaho, Azaka helps Yosho to his feet, the translucent screens around them flickering in and out of existence. In one static-filled display, they see Pii cradling Nerti's motionless form, his sword through her chest. The knight closes his eyes and lowers his face, saddened by the image. The prince looks on somberly, until he sees Ryoshu-Tokimi descend into frame. He motions to Azaka, and the pair watch the dark woman approach the star-crossed couple.)**

**(Outside, Pii clutches Nerti's body tightly as Ryoshu-Tokimi's shoes touch the wet ground before him. The rain patters around them while she treads closer. Pii's eyes open slowly into a raging glare beneath the visor. In a motion, the dart launcher emerges on his gauntlet, spurring a pause from the Ryoan woman. As he carefully lays Nerti on the ground, Ryoshu-Tokimi speaks to him, short and unequivocal.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Stand aside, Terran.

**(Water drips from the brim of his cap as he raises his gaze to meet hers, the targeting reticle already set on her. His answer comes through clenched teeth.)**

**Pii:** _Fuck you_...!!

**(His arm raises with the pull of his trigger, repeatedly sending explosive darts into the barrier around the enemy. Each explodes on the sphere's surface, the Ryoan unharmed. A scowl curls into her face as she approaches closer. Pii retracts the weapon and takes Nerti's scythe in hand. He rushes the dark woman, blade drawn to strike.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi simply grabs the blade in her right hand and backhands the young man to the asphalt. The cap and visor fly from his face, exposing his face and hair to the rain. The wind is forced from his lungs, her talons carving grooves into the plate of his armor. Coldly, she drops Nerti's weapon and gazes down at the fallen couple. With a shake of her head, she regards him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** A waste of effort.

**(Still, Pii rises again, hate burning in his brown eyes. The rain pours harder as he heaves the scythe to his side once more. He stands before Nerti's body, barring the Ryoan's path.)**

**Pii:** You _won't_ have her!!

**(She places her palm toward his face with her answer.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She was always mine.

**(When the enemy summons black power to her hand, the gem on Nerti's ring glows a brilliant white. At this, Ryoshu-Tokimi glances to the fallen young woman with a surprised expression. Pii acts, swinging the scythe at the dark figure. However, she knocks the blade aside and thrusts her blazing claws into the chest plate of Pii's armor, melting through the metal and searing his flesh. He cries out before she tosses him away, her attention plainly on the ring.)**

**(Pii drops to a knee, gasping for breath and dropping Nerti's scythe as he struggles with the new wound on his chest. Meanwhile, Ryoshu-Tokimi kneels at the blonde's body, examining the ring. She comments as her talons reach for the scarlet gem.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … Sister, what have you made...?

**(When her claws touch the white glow, she recoils, noting the scorch marks along her talons. Surprise fills her eyes while she looks back to the gem, adding.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … My power... _white_ in color...?

**(The ring phases through Nerti's finger, floating upward as a shimmering female figure rises from Nerti's body. Ryoshu-Tokimi witnesses two grey eyes gazing back from this being, full of fury and anger. The ring settles itself on this figure's finger, white light flaring from its gem. Swiftly, the entity appears at Pii's side and wraps her arms around him. To his ears, Nerti's voice whispers to him.)**

"**Nerti":** … Will...

**(He raises his head as she continues, her fingers intertwining with his.)**

"**Nerti":** … I'm right here...

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi watches, her eyes focused in interest.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … Aelins...

**(Those grey eyes meet the red and blue of the Ryoan's when two angelic wings open behind the entity. They wrap around Pii and the white figure, enveloping them both in their warm embrace. A carapace of metal then encases each feather, hardening each into a sharpened, fierce blade.)**

**(These metallic wings open, attached now to Pii's armor. The white figure has vanished as Pii now rises, his strength restored. The ring floats before him, the hunter basking in its light. With a breath, he opens his eyes, now feline in shape and grey in color. He glares hatefully at Ryoshu-Tokimi, his words scalding with two distinct voices.)**

**Pii-Nerti:** We were _never_ yours.

**(To his ear, Nerti's voice continues to whisper.)**

"**Nerti":** … Use Tsunami's ring...

**(His hand reaches for the ring, the light accepting him willingly.)**

"**Nerti":** … Focus the power...

**(His eyes shift to a gorgeous gold as he grips his hand around the whiteness. The power molds itself into a weapon, a crystalline broadsword with a white metal finish. Sharp and angular, this blade is welcomed into Pii's hands while his gaze returns to Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

"**Nerti":** … Protect us, my lone wolf...

**(The Ryoan blinks as she considers the metamorphosis before her. Softly, she asks herself.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** My power... white in color... the golden eyes of Aelins... Sister, what have you made?

**(Pii's wings flap behind him, propelling him forward as he draws the sword to his side to strike. Ryoshu-Tokimi steps aside, letting his blade slice through only air. However, he arcs his path back toward the Ryoan woman. She snaps crimson lashes from her talons, but Pii's silvery weapon deftly cuts through these as he nears his enemy.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi vanishes when he swipes, but the whisper calls to him.)**

"**Nerti":** … Behind you...

**(He spins around and clashes the sword against Kagato's dark sword, but the crystalline weapon shatters the vile edge. The enemy slips away as Pii lands, his sword directed at her. Ryoshu-Tokimi narrows her eyes at her foe, particularly the weapon he carries.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Composed of my power...

**(She furrows her brows and shakes her head.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** No, this is wrong...

**(She dispatches the dark sword key when her crimson and obsidian light gathers in her hands. Yet, Pii darts at her, the metal wings thrusting him forward. The Ryoan sends her pulses at him, but he cuts through them with the silvery sword and readies to strike again. This time, she stands her ground and does not yield, watching him approach.)**

**(He slices easily through her transparent barrier, but a Light Hawk Wing appears to stop his sword. However, the blade actually cracks the ethereal construct as well, though it does not shatter. The shockwave from the impact blasts the asphalt below and shatters the remaining glass nearby.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi glares into Pii's golden eyes and recalls the focused gaze of Tenchi Masaki only a couple days before, wielding a similar sword with a similar effect on her Light Hawk Wings. She comments to herself.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** The complement...

**(Aboard both Yagami and Funaho, the crews watch this exchange, Tsunami's words distant in the minds of the Juraians in particular.)**

**Tsunami:** "Then, I witnessed the last of them, and he also saw me. His eyes burned gold as the Darkness consumed him, and he spewed it back, White and pure."

**(In Pii's hand, white fire gathers as he slides away from Ryoshu-Tokimi. He lobs a bolt of white light at her, and she motions her damaged Light Hawk Wing to deflect it. The whisper calls to Pii.)**

"**Nerti":** … Watch her wing...

**(The wing sharpens and shoots at the Terran. He raises his hand as a pair of blades appear on his forehead, one white and one black, crossed at a right angle. Before him, a new Light Hawk Wing appears to protect him. The Ryoan's wing crashes into it, the two constructs shattering in a burst of sparking filaments.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi grins as she sees this, commenting.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** So, Aelins blood has the _same_ properties.

**(Around her, Light Hawk Wings start appearing one after another. Pii's eyes widen when a total of fifteen shimmering shields emerge around the dark woman. With a motion of her hand, one darts at Pii. Again, he summons one of his own to defend, but it is shattered against the incoming.)**

**(Then, she sends three. He raises the single wing again, but after annihilating one, two remain. His sword deflects one, leaving it cracked and damaged, but the last punches into his right metal wing. The impact knocks him off balance while pain radiates through his form. Nerti's voice cries in his ear as he winces, forcing the ache away.)**

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi nods, analyzing this reaction.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Only one Light Hawk Wing, and poorly controlled.

**(She sends three more, and again, despite his efforts, one cuts into his left metal wing. Together, both his voice and Nerti's cry out as he slips to one knee. The dark woman approaches slowly, considering him.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Such is borrowed power, both from _me_ as well as from the daughter of Aelins.

**(Once more, Pii tries to rise, his eyes burning with golden light. His single Light Hawk Wing appears as he heaves the silvery sword to the ready. Yet, his enemy vanishes just before the two blades in his metal wings cut along those appendages, rending the metallic constructs from his form.)**

**(Nerti's voice screams in his ear as the white female figure appears from within him, phasing away from his body. Lightning strikes and illuminates Ryoshu-Tokimi's talons when she grabs the figure's neck and pulls the entity out of Pii. Both he and Nerti's voice cry out at the separation, Pii's eyes shifting back to their normal roundness and brown color.)**

**(Elsewhere, Tsunami suddenly awakes with a gasp. Through her rosy eyes, she can see the events downtown: the battle, Nerti's death, Pii's rage, the separation. Tears roll down her regal face as she now watches what now occurs.)**

**(While the Terran collapses, Ryoshu-Tokimi carries the writhing white woman and forces the figure into Nerti's body, the two integrating together once more. Immediately, Nerti's grey eyes pop open as she gasps for air. Soon enough, she screams in pain while the Ryoan pulls Pii's sword from her chest. The young woman writhes in the agony of her wound while Ryoshu-Tokimi teleports to Pii and examines the silvery sword in his hand.)**

**(The sad rain lightens, pattering along the forms of Pii and Nerti while the dark woman motions to the sword. However, it remains unmoved by her silent command. Intrigued, her eyes narrow, and she kneels, her talons lightly touching its blade. A bright white spark shoots from the weapon to her hand, carving a deep gouge into her glove. Confusion enters her gaze as she considers this.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … It _denies_ me...?!

**(Steeling her expression, she grabs the hilt, and the blade violently arcs bolts of white across her hand. These burn and cut into her glove and flesh, but she holds firmly, taking the weapon for herself. The Ryoan returns to Nerti, and the pair vanish, leaving Pii motionless in the sorrowful rain.)**


	9. Act 9

All material of or relating to Tenchi Muyo! is copyrighted by BeStach, Geneon Entertainment, and Vap.

All material of or relating to Men in Black are copyrighted by Marvel/Malibu Comics and Columbia/Tristar Pictures.

Act 9Scene 1 – A Broken Promise

**(Thunder peals with each lightning flash over the city of Manhattan. As the black clouds gather above the great buildings of the island, movement can be seen near Times Square. There, amongst the shattered concrete walls and glass windows, the Galaxy Police patrol-ship Yagami rests at the end of a great gouge in the asphalt below. The starboard engine smokes, blown open from a direct assault. Likewise, its red hull is split from other combat trauma, whip-like patterns all stemming from a common source.)**

**(On the ground nearby, MiB agents J and K' roll a gurney from the vessel's boarding tube. With them, GP officer Mihoshi Kuramitsu helps her wounded partner, Kiyone Makibi, onto the gurney. The teal-tressed detective clutches a cauterized stab wound through her left shoulder. She struggles with each breath, her eyes trying to focus on those of her partner. Tearfully, Mihoshi holds Kiyone's hand, coaching her to remain conscious despite the evident coming of shock.)**

**(Elsewhere on the island, the Juraian tree-ship Funaho rests within the wreckage of the Battery Park facade of the MiB headquarters. Outside the scorched hull, an emerald sphere appears and soon dims to reveal two legendary Juraian men: the knight Azaka Juraiko and prince Yosho Jurai, better known as Katsuhito Masaki. The knight leans on his blue staff key, tears and burns on his gi displaying the result of the crash. Similarly, the prince rests a hand against the ship's exterior to steady himself.)**

**(Yosho glances a distance away to the fallen Pentinian mecha Caroki, its hands sliced cleanly from their places on its arms. Its head unit has been jettisoned, laying a few meters away with the pilot's chair nearby. Other deep cuts into the machine's structure are clearly seen, each made by the same curved blade.)**

**(With the MiB and GP personnel, Mihoshi and K' stay with Kiyone while J rushes over to a final fallen figure on this battlefield, the Terran hunter Will Pii. Pii lays surrounded by metal blades, feather-like in their shape. Not far away, his sword rests along the ground with a sharp scythe, Nerti Ro's preferred melee weapon. With them, his cap and visor rest, the eyepiece cracked from its violent fall.)**

**(J kneels with the hunter, checking his vital signs. Finding him alive, he motions to K', who promptly comes to his partner. The two heave the young man upward, his arms over their shoulders, and carry him toward Kiyone and Mihoshi. Pii's red armor is burned and scarred from his recent combat, grooves cut in the plates by impossibly sharp talons. Further, five holes have been melted into the chest plate, a vicious grip torn into the metal.)**

**(As they walk, the two look up to the fallen towers, beneath which the Grey saucer and the tree-ship Ryu-Oh currently reside. Similarly, on the beach, the engine section of the GP patrol-ship Hayato rests, its bridge embedded into the bedrock of Manhattan Bay.)**

**(However, when they reach Kiyone and Mihoshi, a white light envelops the group of five. Likewise, the same power surrounds Yosho and Azaka, spurring questions between them all. Before any of them can utter proposed answers, all of them vanish in a flash, leaving the streets cleared of combatants and wounded.)**

**(Silently, a single figure appears and kneels at the metallic feathers, taking the cap and visor in her hand. The matron deity of Jurai, Tsunami, sadly considers the item with her rosy gaze before she draws another artifact from her kimono. This device, a dark tiara key, is composed of ashen wood, thorns extending along its brow. Its violet crest rests quietly amongst the thorns while the Juraian woman internalizes its design.)**

**(She sighs, her expression grim as she sets the cap and visor aside. Gripping the tiara of thorns gently, she turns aside, sighting a crimson light in the distance. With a heavy breath, she advances toward it, her heart far from settled.)**

**(In a hospital emergency ward, Nerti Ro lays unconscious, a bloody stab wound obvious in the center of her chest. However, the wound has been mended, albeit with a scar visible through the puncture hole in her white armor. Around her, crimson light illuminates regal talons that pass over her body. Ryoshu-Tokimi, the Matron of Ryua, gazes down at this blonde young woman. The Ryoan's red and blue eyes narrow as she considers the patient before her.)**

**(Yet, she raises her eyes and glances aside, a new presence sensed. She grins to herself as she speaks, her voice melding with several celestial planes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Hello, sister.

**(From a nearby corridor, an azure light enters with the advent of Tsunami. The two matron deities turn to face one another, concern written on Tsunami's and mild amusement on Ryoshu-Tokimi's.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I see you have decided to face me yourself.

**(The Juraian's eyes fall on Nerti's body and widen as a horrible chill shoots through her form. She quickly rushes to the blonde's side, worry in her single voice.)**

**Tsunami:** … What have you done?!

**(Coldly, the Ryoan steps to her sister's side and answers.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** This one and her future mate are experiments of mine.

**(Tsunami's hand nears Nerti's cheek, but pauses, knowing already that she cannot touch the young woman.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** He is a simple Terran, and I wondered at how his race would take to my power. Needless to say, I am underwhelmed.

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi glances down at the blonde's slow breathing.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She, however, was more ambitious. Her maternal lineage is that of the Aelins family of Prora 2718, one that carries a divinely given power of their own. Curious, I experimented in cultivating this power and merging it with mine.

**(Tears forming in her eyes, Tsunami rests her hand next to Nerti's head while her sister continues with an interested tone.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Yet, the early transplantation experiments always yielded... failure, to put it simply. As such, I turned to hybridization. To ensure no taint from my earlier works, I chose a Pentinian template. Their genome is similar to a Ryoan's and, thus, conductive to my power, but without any immediate infusion.

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi motions to Nerti.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** She is the culmination of my efforts, and I am a bit surprised by the results.

**(Tsunami then spins around to her sister, aghast and appalled.)**

**Tsunami:** How can you be so _calm_?! Look at what you've _done_!!

**(The bemused expression fades from Ryoshu-Tokimi's face, replaced with an icy, narrowed gaze. The azure-haired woman takes a step back, her rosy eyes passing over the form of her sister.)**

**Tsunami:** What happened to you? We agreed to bring balance to this galaxy, not throw it into chaos!

**(The auburn-tressed lady folds her arms, her gaze coldly piercing into the Juraian's as she listens.)**

**Tsunami:** But, Kain... Liaens and Jezibel... even Kagato mistook _me_ for _you_! And now...

**(Tsunami glances to Nerti, her thoughts drifting to Dark Ayeka, before she turns her eyes again to Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**Tsunami:** You openly attack Earth, manipulating people to make them weapons.

**(Silence only answers the lady of light, spurring her to demand once more.)**

**Tsunami:** _Talk_ to me, sister! _Please_!!

**(The dark matron shakes her head and replies, her tone as chilling as her gaze.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You are as naïve as that child you inhabit.

**(Tsunami's hands raise to her chest as her sister steps forward and continues.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Look at them, Tsunami. Look at Jurai, Ryua, Earth, Pentinon, Concor, Todain, Heliotropis, and the infinite other inhabited worlds in this dimension, let alone the uncountable others.

**(Slowly, she paces around the Juraian lady, her sight passing over her form.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Each one is unique. Each has some difference from the others, no matter how minute. You and I considered these differences once millennia ago when we gazed down at this galaxy.

**(As the dark lady passes before her sister, the predatory and determined gaze of her crimson and azure eyes burns hotly with her speech.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** And, we chose, did we not? We chose one world each to carry our power and champion our cause.

**(Tsunami nods as Ryoshu-Tokimi passes back behind her. The dark woman's voice burns with damning accusation.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** We are no better than them, are we?

**(Confused, the lady of Jurai inquires.)**

**Tsunami:** What do you mean, sister? We tried to bring peace.

**(A scowl appears on the dark woman's face as she passes before Tsunami again.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** All we did was create another difference, another reason for envy and jealousy.

**(The Ryoan stops before her Juraian counterpart, her piercing gaze set on the kind eyes of her sister.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Consider it, Tsunami. Why do people, on the same world or on different ones, fight one another?

**(Emphasizing each word, the dark matron answers her own question, her eyes scalding those of Tsunami.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Differences in _wealth_, _skin color_, _faith_, _sex_, _desire_, _planet_, _dimension_... _status_.

**(The crimson light around Ryoshu-Tokimi gnashes against the azure surrounding Tsunami, the Juraian listening anxiously.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** So long as one person can look at his neighbor and see a facet that is dissimilar, there will be conflict. From conflict comes war. It is inevitable due to the nature of existence.

**(The lady of light shakes her head and pleads in response.)**

**Tsunami:** But, sister, isn't that why we chose Ryua and Jurai, to mediate these conflicts, to bring peace?

**(The Ryoan nods, accepting this.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** At first, yes, but mediation only goes so far, particularly by proxy.

**Tsunami:** What do you mean?

**(The dark being closes her eyes as an image appears within her sibling's mind. There, twelve Ryoans stand around a circular table, the Council of Twelve. Eleven of them alternate between shuffling through papers, debating, and listening wearily to the others. However, one councilwoman sits with her fingers intertwined before her face. This woman's blue feline eyes narrow coldly, listening to the bickering and indecision of her peers. She combs her auburn hair back with her fingers as she sighs hard, the dark matron's narration continuing.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** All we did, sister, was give two worlds license and power to regulate other planets, to expand their influence, and our own. Still, they needed guidance. I am sure Jurai was no different in her infancy.

**(With a few whispered words from the councilwoman, a female figure of light appears behind her, Tokimi's essence. The Ryoan lady stands from the table and walks to a nearby window. Tokimi follows and speaks with her.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I would speak with the Council of Twelve, even after their first millennium of existence. However, as their influence grew, management of that influence became increasingly difficult. One councilwoman in particular came to my interest, Ryua Nori. She had always been a prudent woman and an effective leader.

**(This woman, Nori Ryua, glances to Tokimi's form and whispers coldly, ending their conversation abruptly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Then, I could not see why my previous edicts had not ended their problems. She stated that I was too far removed. "If you could see through our eyes, you would understand," she said.

**(Nori turns to leave, but Tokimi calls to her. The Ryoan returns to the brilliant entity, and the discussion renews, ending with a surprised look on the woman's face.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** If that is what I needed, so be it.

**(Tokimi opens her arms widely, a brilliant, flaring light burning from her hands. The other council members spin to the pair as the power envelops the two. Soon, the light dims, revealing only Nori remaining. However, her clothing immediately shifts to Tokimi's black and red gown. On her head, Tokimi's streamer headdress appears as she raises her head, Tokimi's crimson and azure eyes gazing back.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I assimilated with her, fulfilling her wish that I see through their eyes, my eyes.

**(Nori-Tokimi advances to the crystalline window and gazes out on the beauty of Ryua, her thoughts already considering what needed to be done.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Her mind mingled with mine, and I could then see their difficulty. That is when I took direct control of my world, and for a century, I brought a full peace to Ryua and her holdings.

**(The scene shifts to the same chamber a century later. The council members all since been replaced, save for the current chairwoman, Nori-Tokimi, who has not aged a day. Before her rests several documents with Jurai's royal seal, which she considers coolly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Then, came the border disputes with Jurai, your people.

**(The Ryoan lady takes a document in hand and opens it. As she reads its contents, her eyes narrow, interested.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** The Kyuka system, five planets at optimal distance from a blue star, their gravitational fields in perfect balance in a synchronous orbit. Of all the star systems we have known, sister, it was the most beautiful. All of them were living jewels, coveted by both my people and yours. I was negotiating with Jurai's governing council with regard to colonization of the worlds.

**(Nori-Tokimi stands and turns to her council members, speaking calmly and plainly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** However, it became a game of numbers, of posturing. We would have two and they three, or other variants. Neither side could be satisfied. Even then, people from both nations had already started to settle the planets and come into conflict with one another over land ownership. The unrest started with name-calling: "cat-fucker", "tree-whore", "gem-monger", "water-bitch", and so many others.

**(The scene changes to a tropical beach where a black Ohki ship descends from the clear sky above. Once the central spine touches the water, Nori-Tokimi and several of her council appear from within the vessel and step forward. Ahead of them, two well-dressed men stand before her, one Ryoan and the other Juraian. Both kneel before her, addressing her in proper formality. She quickly bids them rise as conversation begins.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** It grew to fists, then blades, and in time, the powers _we_ bestowed upon them. When the governors could no longer quell the situation, I came myself to intervene. Both Ryoan and Juraian governors met me on the beach of Kyuka V to discuss terms with the local representatives.

**(Nori-Tokimi then pauses, glancing into the distant forests when a beam of light sings out. This ray pierces the head of the Ryoan governor. Lifeless, he falls to the ground, raising surprised gasps from all the attending people. Time slows as Nori-Tokimi's eyes turn to the Juraian governor, who is horrified at the scene. His eyes slides to hers while the dark matron's current avatar gazes at him, shocked and appalled.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** However, I found an ulterior motive, _assassination_.

**(Suddenly, she raises her hand, erecting a barrier around herself and her council members when more four shots rise from the bushes. Each beam races at one member of the Ryoan party, including Nori-Tokimi. The coherent rays punch through the barrier, three of them killing a council member behind the matron.)**

**(Nori-Tokimi quickly steps away as the beam carves a burnt mark into her right cheek. She screams and steps back as she feels the pain, unfamiliar to the eternal entity. The attending dignitaries duck and seek cover.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Their weapons were infused with _your_ people's power. They tried to kill _me_, when I was there to seek _peace_.

**(The Juraian governor rushes to Nori-Tokimi, asking if she is alright. However, her right hand snaps around his throat as fury burns within her crimson and azure eyes. He stares fearfully back into her eyes while green, leaf-like marks scrawl themselves down her cheeks, neck, and chest. In particular, her wound is covered. A few words slip from her lips, and the few council members remaining grab their comrades and vanish back into the Ohki ship.)**

**(Alone, Nori-Tokimi glares into the trees and raises her left hand. At her unspoken command, filaments of black and crimson into her palm. Without a motion, these blast forth in four streams, each targeting a different part of the bush. Each impacts with a loud explosion of onyx power, sand, and flora.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** I would _not_ allow such a trespass, not from _anyone_, Juraian or no.

**(Her eyes next rest on the governor in her grasp. Coldly, her eyes narrow as her regal gloves sharpen into talons and sink their tips into the man's throat.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** No Juraian ever left Kyuka V that day.

**(In the present with Tsunami and Ryoshu-Tokimi, the Juraian woman steps back, shock drawing her hands to her chest. Icily, the dark matron continues in a settled calm.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Jurai named that event the "Massacre of Kyuka", the flame that ignited the great war between the nations of Jurai and Ryua.

**(Tsunami shakes her head, her words slow as she grasps at this revelation.)**

**Tsunami:** … _Why_, sister?!

**(A glare crosses the Ryoan's eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Is it not evident? They _killed_ representatives of _my_ world. They attacked _me_. This was an act of blatant aggression against the Ryoan people, and _me_ in particular.

**(Tears roll down Tsunami's cheeks as she pleads to her sister.)**

**Tsunami:** Why didn't you talk to _me_?! Why didn't you _explain_ to Jurai?!

**(The dark woman's voice strikes venomously back.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Did you _look_ into them, dear sister? Did you _ever_ look into the hearts of your beloved Juraian race?

**(She steps back opening her arms to either side as she enumerates her points.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Fear.

**(From Tsunami's kimono, the brier hairband offered to Nagi flies free and hovers over Ryoshu-Tokimi's left shoulder. The matron of Jurai glances down to her robes as her sister continues.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Rage.

**(The thorn tiara worn by Dark Ayeka shoots away from Tsunami's robes, taking its place above Ryoshu-Tokimi's right shoulder. The Juraian lady raises her eyes to meet those of her sister.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Arrogance.

**(The vine staff wielded by Tetta appears with the thorn tiara, levitating silently at the Ryoan's will.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Contempt.

**(The nettled staff wielded by Tessei materializes alongside the brier hairband.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** And, most of all, _avarice_.

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi tends her hand toward Tsunami, where the hilt of Kagato's dark sword appears, closed and silent. Together, the crests of these five keys shimmer a pale blue while Ryoshu-Tokimi gazes into her sister's rosy eyes.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Can you feel them now, the vileness and corruption of your chosen people? They looked to Ryua and saw a different power, a different rule. They _feared_ Ryua, which soon changed to _anger_. In their _arrogance_ and _contempt_, they _coveted_ Ryua's holdings. Talking no longer served a purpose when their actions had already spoken.

**(Her claws close around the sword, and its guard willingly opens to her as she glances toward it.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Ruling Ryua taught me many things, Tsunami, and one of the most important lessons was to take control, to _force_ equity. Two warring nations will not bring peace.

**(Sparks fly from the key when the black and red broadsword blade extends from the weapon. Coldly, her eyes slide to her sister's.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** However, one single nation can. But, the war splintered Ryua, and me as well. I wandered through numerous worlds and dimensions, considering the future.

**(She lowers the sword at her side, the blade's hum low and deep.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** That is when I came to know of Prora, among other numerous worlds outside our universe. Several had peoples touched by the divine, ones like ourselves. Prorans like Liaens and Aelins were one. The Kimitan sisters were another.

**(Tsunami closes her eyes, sadness wrapping around her. Ryoshu-Tokimi raises the dark sword before her and considers it.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** For a time, I considered letting Jurai be the ruling power, through Jurai Kagato. That failed in Masaki Tenchi and his mother, Masaki Achika.

**(The sisters then meet gazes once again, Tsunami's brows furrowed somberly.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** However, my people have begun to reunite under my banner. Ryua will be whole again, and I will take control as I should have millennia ago.

**(Softly, the matron of Jurai speaks.)**

**Tsunami:** You could have come to me, sister... We could have spared this galaxy so much bloodshed...

**(The Ryoan's voice raises, irritation plain.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Your people are _corrupt_, Tsunami! You _neglected_ them! Most no longer even remember your _name_!

**(Through the lady of light's mind, she remembers the faces of those who have protected young Sasami: Tenchi Masaaki, Ayeka Jurai, Yosho Masaki, Azaka Juraiko, Kamidake Juraiko, among many others. Tsunami shakes her head, her gaze steeling itself.)**

**Tsunami:** No, Tokimi, some have lost their way, but many have not. I _will_ not forsake them, whether they forget my name or not.

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi's glare hardens, her grip on the dark sword tight.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** What do you see them that is worth saving?

**(Honestly, the azure-haired lady answers.)**

**Tsunami:** Nobility.

**(At her right shoulder, Ayeka's tiara appears and holds its position.)**

**Tsunami:** Determination.

**(Over her left shoulder, Nagi's hairband materializes, hovering like the tiara.)**

**Tsunami:** Duty.

**(With the tiara, Azaka's blue staff joins the smaller key.)**

**Tsunami:** Passion.

**(Alongside the hairband, Kamidake's red staff drifts close to its counterpart.)**

**Tsunami:** And, most importantly, _courage_.

**(She extends her hand, where Tenchiken emerges. Together, the crests of these Juraian keys shimmer an emerald, contrasting the pale light of their dark counterparts. Softly, Tsunami continues as Tenchiken's hilt unravels, converting itself into the silvery blade Tenchi wielded days ago.)**

**Tsunami:** _Nobly_ and _determined_, these people have maintained a tradition of peace. _Dutifully_ and _passionately_, they have fought to defend their homes and families. I have known nothing more _courageous_ than this.

**(She takes the leaf-encrusted sword in her hands and lowers it to a ready posture between the two women. Coldly, Ryoshu-Tokimi closes her eyes and states.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Jurai is diseased. Their time is long since concluded.

**(Tsunami's eyes close, Dark Ayeka's pale face drifting through her thoughts. Her grip tightens on the hilt of the sword as she answers.)**

**Tsunami:** That disease was _not_ wholly of _their_ making.

**(A scowl crosses Ryoshu-Tokimi's face, knowing well Tsunami's thoughts.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You would choose that mortal girl over your own _sister_? You would let that _child_ you inhabit twist your heart?

**(Together, Tsunami's voice blends with that of another familiar one.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** She _is_ my sister, just as Ryoko and Nagi _are_ your daughters.

**(Insulted, Ryoshu-Tokimi extends her free hand to the side. From the shadows near Nerti, the silver sword wielded by Pii emerges. The dark matron takes the weapon in hand, and immediately white bolts spark from the hilt, carving into her regal talons. She steels her resolve and holds both this blade and Kagato's at the ready before her.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Tsunami, as your only true sister, I ask you once. Stand aside. Jurai _will_ fall. Ryua _will_ rise.

**(Tsunami's gaze sets firmly on her sister, determined and immovable.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** All this is a product of _your_ interference, Tokimi, and I will _not_ let it continue.

**(The matron of Jurai draws her blade to her side as her kimono shimmers away in soft waves of azure light, replaced by a blue and white combat attire. Made after the Juraian fashion, her gi and zubon are fitted, bracers and shin guards clearly seen. The tiara and hairband key wrap around her shoulders; each staff adheres to one of these two, crossing behind the lady's back. Standing now, Tsunami brandishes her sword as ten Light Hawk Wings blossom open around her, each brilliant and beautiful.)**

**(Ryua's dark lady sighs and shakes her head.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** So be it.

**(Waves of flame coast over the matron of Ryua, exchanging her regal gown to red and black combat uniform. Crimson gloves wrap like a blaze up each of her arms, both clawed with obsidian bracers around her forearms. Scarlet shin guards contrast the black against her legs, which blends into the blazes around her chest and collar. Crossing her two swords before her, the four dark keys hanging in the air find their places on her costume, much like with Tsunami. With a sweep of the two swords, fifteen Light Hawk Wings break open around her, powerful and bright.)**

**(Still, as the crystalline blade arcs white sparks over Ryoshu-Tokimi's hand, she draws it and Kagato's dark sword to her side, ready to strike. Tsunami's rosy eyes meet her sister's with one last plea.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** Please, sister. Stop this.

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi shakes her head, her answer clear.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Not until Ryua is restored, and Jurai broken in her place.

**(At this, the Ryoan darts forward, Pii's silvery weapon leading her attack. A tear rolls down the Juraian's cheek as she steps forward, Tenchi's white sword raised to block. The two blades connect, sending a shower of white and black filaments around the two. The clash echoes around them, issuing forth a shockwave which smashes through the concrete nearby.)**

**(A spherical shell appears around Nerti while a white blade appears on her forehead, half of the symbol that was on Pii's in his battle. Within, she is protected from the wave that quickly unmakes the building around her.)**

**(Outside, the hospital shatters, its pieces pushed away by the wake of the matrons' first clash. A pillar of blue and red rises from the two eternal women, the two opposing colors warring with one another. All around, this light is cast down upon the devastation wrought from the past few days, foreboding more.)**

**(Elsewhere, within the MiB headquarters, three emerald kites shine on Tenchi's Masaki's forehead as he wakes with a gasp. A chill rushes through him while his father Nobuyuki rushes to his side, both pleased and concerned. Sasami's voice narrates somberly.)**

**Sasami:** Even though I gave my sister headaches because I didn't study hard, I did study Jurai's history. When I grew older, I knew then why she wanted me to.

**(A few doors away, three scarlet discs appear on Ryoko Ryua's forehead as she sits up with a start. She winces, holding her arms not only from a soreness, but also from a cold in her veins.)**

**Sasami:** History repeats itself, and it also heralds what is to come. Empress Achi foresaw this all: first the Five, and then the Two.

**(A floor down, Washu Hakubi stands at the bedside of Will Pii, several luminescent planes passing over the young man's form. She glances between the various status windows around her when the image of a black blade appears on his forehead, stirring him back to consciousness. He shivers while the genius with him blinks curiously, already inquiring about his condition.)**

**Sasami:** "From the War, these Five came before me and knelt. I asked them why, and the woman answered, 'In respect for the fallen.' She pointed to the sky, and I saw the Two: the Woman of Mystery and the Mother of Darkness. With mighty swords and shields of Power, they bitterly fought until one remained on high."

**(With Tsunami and Ryoshu-Tokimi, the sisters separate, the Ryoan sliding toward Nerti. The Juraian blinks with surprise as the blonde vanishes in a wisp of dark flame. However, before she can speak, Ryoshu-Tokimi also disappears, leaving her fifteen Light Hawk Wings hanging in the air nearby.)**

**(These wings sharpen into blades and shoot toward the lady of light. With a wave of her hand, all ten of Tsunami's wings gather together before her. These spiral into a disc-like shield, against which the incoming blades crash. Together, the wings shatter and fade away, showering the azure-haired woman with vanishing shards.)**

**(However, two blades remain. Tsunami slides aside, side-stepping one while she swings Tenchi's white sword, damaging and deflecting the last. Then, Pii's crystalline blade slices toward her right. She turns to block, the clash spewing another burst of red and blue energy around the two women.)**

**(As Tsunami holds this block, Ryoshu-Tokimi swipes with Kagato's dark edge. With a glance, one of Tsunami's Light Hawk Wings appears to deflect the blade. In unison, her Juraian keys shine a deep jade before she too teleports away. Ryoshu-Tokimi glowers when two Light Hawk Wings shoot down from above at the dark matron's side. Easily, she turns, two of her wings cracking open. These two dart forward and swirl around the incoming pair. Each swirl constricts and shatters with its intended target.)**

**(Tsunami reemerges to Ryoshu-Tokimi's opposite side, her white sword falling to strike. The dark matron slides away, swiping with each of her blades in turn. Tsunami avoids Pii's crystalline weapon, but she holds firm as the two staves behind her blast their energies onto Kagato's key.)**

**(Bathed in Jurai's light, Kagato's blade vanishes, the dark key closing. Further, Ryoshu-Tokimi winces as her hand is caught in the brilliance. She drops the weapon and slides away. With a scowl, she glares at her sister.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** … You _struck_ me...?!

**(Tsunami readies her sword again when Ryoshu-Tokimi's dark keys burn a deep crimson, her powers gathering within each, even the dropped hilt. As one, their power is released, manifesting into a second copy of Ryoshu with a Ryoan sword held at the ready in her hand. This image flies forward at Tsunami, who raises a hand to the figure, the tiara and hairband shining brightly.)**

**(Around the Ryoshu image, an azure barrier appears, sparking blue and green bolts down onto the replica. For a moment, the creation writhes before fading away. Yet, in that time, Ryoshu-Tokimi has taken to the air. Tsunami steps back, her Light Hawk Wings opening to form a dome around her. The dark sister's wings open and shoot down into the dome, shattering it into vanishing shards and forcing the Juraian to roll aside.)**

**(As Ryoshu-Tokimi lands, she glances up to see Tsunami slow to recover, her breath haggard. Coolly, the dark woman dashes at her sister, her remaining sword drawn to strike. Tsunami spins around and blocks with her blade, but two of Tokimi's wings materialize and punch through the Juraian's left shoulder.)**

**(While Tsunami does not scream, Sasami's voice cries out elsewhere, within Ayeka Jurai's mind at MiB headquarters.)**

**Sasami:** _Ayeka_!!

**(With the violet-tressed princess, she wakes with a start in the MiB infirmary and a name on her lips.)**

**Ayeka:** … Sasami...?!

**(With Tsunami, she bares her teeth while two of her own wings appear and smash into those piercing her shoulder. Together, they shatter to nothing, allowing her to slide away from Ryoshu-Tokimi. A glare in her eyes, the Juraian manifests five of her wings and sends them at her dark sister. The enemy merely waves five of hers to counter, neglecting to notice three more behind her. As ten wings smash into filaments, Tsunami's three spike through Ryoshu-Tokimi's back and out her chest.)**

**(The Ryoan coughs, blood rolling from her lips as she breaks these wings from her body with two of her own. Tsunami keeps her distance, holding her wound and breathing deeply. However, her counterpart gathers power into her dark hairband and tiara keys. At this, her wounds seal with her black fire.)**

**(The Juraian closes her eyes, her emerald light shining through Ayeka and Nagi's keys. Similarly, her wounds seal themselves, though her weariness only increases. Her free hand holds close from an ache felt deep in her formerly injured shoulder. Her breath is deep and slow, her eyes focusing on her enemy.)**

**(In this moment, Ryoshu-Tokimi motions to Tsunami, commenting.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Your body is weakening, Tsunami.

**(Tsunami sighs and stands with her blade ready again.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** It is fragile, immature. You _forced_ it into adulthood. It will not withstand much more.

**(Tsunami nods somberly.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** I know, sister.

**(Coldly, Ryoshu-Tokimi adds.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** You could destroy yourself.

**(Tsunami's eyes meet her sister's, determined and sure.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** I won't let this continue, Tokimi.

**(With a sigh, Ryoshu-Tokimi answers as Kagato's sword flies back to her hand and opens its blade again.)**

**Ryoshu-Tokimi:** Your choice, sister.

**(Sadly, Tsunami comments.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** No, it's ours.

**(Around the Juraian lady, her Light Hawk Wings open. The staves, tiara, and hairband flare a glorious emerald while the transformed Tenchiken in her hand burns a brilliant white. Two of the ten wings vanish as she whispers to herself, only in Sasami's voice.)**

**Sasami:** … I'm sorry, Ayeka...

**(Ryoshu-Tokimi's eyes narrow as she too gathers her wings and power, her swords held ready. At once, Tsunami's attack comes: all Jurai's fury through the five keys, eight Light Hawk Wings of divinity, and the matron of light's voice calling for her enemy.)**

**(Earth shudders when a burst of crimson and azure consumes Manhattan, blinding all those who would be foolish enough to witness the event. However, soon, that power fades, leaving one figure standing at its heart. Her silhouette stands against the rising sun, illuminating her torn and bloodied combat uniform.)**

**(Although her tan hair falls haphazardly around her face, her taloned hands grip tightly a torn piece of a blue gi. Icily, she releases it to fall to the ground before she fades from sight.)**

**(Within MiB headquarters, Tenchi and his father embrace one another until a point of light catches their attention. Both turn to it as it expands and reshapes itself into Tenchiken's hilt. As it dims, the devices falls into the young man's lap. Carefully, he takes it in hand before a realization comes to his mind.)**

**(A few doors down, Azaka opens the door to Kamidake's room, soon noticing two similar points of light. These promptly return the two staves, which the azure knight quickly gathers, horror on his face.)**

**(With Nagi, a fourth point of light appears, the brightness stirring the huntress from her slumber. Sleepily, she sits up, shielding her eyes as her hairband key manifests. She too takes her item in hand, curiously noting the addition of the scarlet gem.)**

**(Lastly, Ayeka steadies herself at the side of her bed when the final point emerges and reveals her tiara key. She extends her hand under the lady's crown, allowing it to fall into her grasp, but when she touches it, she can hear Sasami's last words whisper to her mind.)**

**(Tears fill her amethyst eyes as the sobs begin to wrack her body. She braces herself against the bed as her knees fail under her emotions, her sobs growing into cries.)**

Scene 2 – The Goddess's Legacy

**(The floor of the infirmary chills Ryoko's feet as she sets her weight upon them. The cyan-maned woman holds her arms close, forcing the cold feeling away. She raises her amber eyes to a mirror on the opposite wall, where she sees a scarlet glow upon her forehead. Distinctly, three discs of red glisten upon her brow.)**

**(Curious, she traces their location on her skin, but they soon fade away. As she lowers her hand, her eyes fall on her palm, drawing her recent memories from the blurred vision of sleep: the twisting of Ayeka's heart, Nagi's awakening, and Ryoko's own request of Tsunami. Her fingers curl into a fist as she closes her eyes and whispers to herself.)**

**Ryoko:** … Please don't be a dream...

**(With a deep breath, Ryoko opens her hand, gathering her will and focus there as she always had. A spark of blue arcs over her palm, followed by others. Around her left wrist, the golden bracelet shimmers, the red gem held there glowing brightly. She opens her eyes in the blue light as the bolts coalesce into a sphere and shift their color to crimson.)**

**(Ryoko's fingers close around this orb, molding it into her familiar blade. Yet, unlike her original sword, the power flares around her hand, bold and fierce, similar to a "Y"-shaped hilt for the weapon. She swings the sword easily to her side as she takes a breath. When the air leaves her lungs, a grin appears on her lips with a few words.)**

**Ryoko:** … Thanks, Sasami...

**(She glances down to the bracelet on her left wrist and its shine. Softly, Sasami's voice speaks to her ears.)**

**Sasami:** … "But, at his side was a Shadow, its blade fierce and bloody. I turned away in fear, but he consoled me. 'Do not fear this Shadow, for it loves the Light as you.'" …

**(In the dim light of her red sword and gem, Ryoko glances at herself in the mirror again, seeing the "Shadow" and her "fierce and bloody" blade. A longing wells in her heart when Sasami's voice whispers one last time.)**

**Sasami:** … Go to him...

**(She releases the sword to vanish, the light in the gem fading away. Affection curls a genuine smile on her lips as she nods.)**

**Ryoko:** … Right.

**(Her eyes close, and with a thought, the Ryoan woman flickers away, teleported from this room.)**

**(Nearby in another room of the ward, the legendary knight Azaka holds one of the staff keys in either hand. Though his wounds have been bandaged, his gi and hakama still carry their damage from the recent aerial battle over Manhattan aboard Funaho and Ken-Ohki. He steps back and heavily sits into a chair at the bedside of his partner, Kamidake, the keys resting across his lap. Wearily, the azure warrior rests his face in his hands, knowing well the outcome of recent events.)**

**Azaka:** … Princess... Lady Tsunami...

**(Tears threaten the edges of the old soldier's eyes when a knock comes to the door. Azaka takes a breath and straightens his back, steeling himself for his answer.)**

**Azaka:** … Yes?

**(However, he blinks in surprise to see the huntress Nagi standing in the doorway. Her cape around her and a somber expression in her eyes, she bows respectfully to the knight as she inquires.)**

**Nagi:** May I enter?

**(With a quiet and somber grin, he nods his head to her.)**

**Azaka:** Of course, Lady Nagi.

**(She rises slowly and steps inside, her crimson, feline eyes falling on the wounded Kamidake. Setting the staff keys aside, Azaka stands at her side as she joins him at the red knight's bedside. She rests her hands on the side-rail, both still bound in gauze from her recent ordeal.)**

**(A softness enters Nagi's eyes looking down on the fallen warrior while the two simply stand at his bedside. Watching his slow breathing, she remembers the younger knight's words to her.)**

**Kamidake:** … Remember what we practiced. Remember the peace...

**(Her mind recalls his part in her confrontation with Ryoshu-Tokimi, and her own anger when he fell. The huntress's fist grips the side-rail tightly, attracting Azaka's attention. She lowers her head, her eyes closing as she whispers.)**

**Nagi:** … Thank you...

**(The elder knight nods and adds quietly.)**

**Azaka:** He knows.

**(Nagi's eyes open distantly toward Kamidake's face, turmoil swirling in her heart. One of her hands leaves the side-rail and slides along her opposite arm, holding it close as she tries to steady her feelings. Azaka listens as she questions him.)**

**Nagi:** You know now who she is, don't you?

**(His eyes slide to her, seeing a seething fire in her gaze, through a growing layer of saline.)**

**Nagi:** That... _presence_ behind her face...

**(The azure knight concurs, his eyes turning to his partner.)**

**Azaka:** I do.

**Nagi:** How do I _kill_ her?

**(Their gazes turn toward one another, evidencing the adamant intent within her. Her words smolder with each quiet inflection.)**

**Nagi:** I owe _him_ that. I owe my _sister_, _and_ my _mother_, that.

**(He closes his eyes, his calm words steady.)**

**Azaka:** I... understand what you feel, Lady Nagi.

**(He takes a breath, tension growing along his arm as he speaks.)**

**Azaka:** You aren't the only one wanting vengeance...

**(However, through the tension within him, a centered thought passes from his lips.)**

**Azaka:** Still, you need to consider your opponent. She is the progenitress of the Ryoan race, the origin of their power.

**(Impatient and emotional, Nagi pushes away from the medical bed and folds her arms while Azaka continues.)**

**Azaka:** A powerful adversary, who has been in two _recent_, _major_ confrontations.

**(Nagi pauses, her back to the blue knight. Even though her anger has clouded her mind, the old soldier's words catch her ear.)**

**Azaka:** In the first, she overwhelmed her opponents, even controlling one, until another used her own type of weapon against her.

**(She glances back to him, her hunter's instinct keen on his meaning.)**

**Azaka:** He also had a blade, a silvery sword, that damaged her primary weapon.

**Nagi:** … Like Masaki's...?

**(He nods, adding.)**

**Azaka:** The second battle was with her own sister, seemingly equal to her in raw power.

**(She glances aside, considering this.)**

**Nagi:** … Is she wounded...?

**Azaka:** Further, she had difficulty handling your unique mixture of abilities, forcing her to use her so-called "Light Hawk Wings".

**(Nagi nods, her mind clearing as she processes this information. She reaches within her cloak and produces her hairband key, newly modified with a crimson gem.)**

**Nagi:** True, though I had little control over it.

**(Azaka motions to the gem.)**

**Azaka:** Perhaps that has changed with your key.

**(Her eyes rise to meet his before she agrees, placing the hairband once more within the spikes of her hair. Quietly, the Juraian crest glows a gentle violet while the gem burns a scalding scarlet. She turns toward the door, but pauses in the entryway, her voice still soft to the gentleman.)**

**Nagi:** … Look after him....

**(He bows slightly toward her.)**

**Azaka:** Of course, Lady Nagi.

**(The knight then takes the staff keys and places them across his open palms. He presents them to her, his head bowed respectfully to her.)**

**Azaka:** Please, take these as well.

**(Nagi glances down to the weapons dubiously, but the azure knight insists.)**

**Azaka:** He would want to be with you to face this danger. Let his spirit be.

**Nagi:** And yours?

**(He motions to his bandaged wounds.)**

**Azaka:** Unfortunately, I cannot stand with you now. And, he is my partner. My spirit should be with his.

**(She nods, accepting this as she takes the staves from him. With a brief bow, she slips away into the corridor, leaving the elder knight to watch over his former apprentice.)**

**(Nearby, Ayeka's sobs wrack her body as she kneels in the floor of her room. Her hands are wrapped around her tiara key, its crest glittering a gentle violet color. In her thoughts, she can hear her younger sister's voice whispering in the distance.)**

**Sasami:** … I'm sorry, Ayeka...

**(She clutches the device close to her chest while she cries alone, leaning against the nearby bed.)**

**Sasami:** … There were so many things I hoped to tell you... to share with you, my sister...

**(Her sobs slow, her amethyst eyes gazing down at the light of her key.)**

**Sasami:** … But, like you, I have a duty to protect Jurai... at all costs...

**(Ayeka's lids close with a slow breath, listening to Sasami's words.)**

**Sasami:** … You've seen her... felt her power within you...

**(Her tears continue to roll down her cheeks while her thoughts recall the horrors Kain II forced on her mind, and the acts she committed under his direction.)**

**Sasami:** … She can't be ignored... not anymore...

**(Her regal hair shades her face as she nods her head forward. The younger princess's words fade when her voice grows somber.)**

**Sasami:** … You've always been a strong and proud woman, Ayeka... though you didn't always see it yourself...

**(Gently, Ayeka opens her hands, letting the tiara key rest in her palms before she slides her fingertips along its curvature.)**

**Sasami:** … I've never been ashamed to call you my sister... and I'm so sorry...

**(She straightens her back, sitting properly in seiza while her fingers curl around the item in her hands.)**

**Sasami:** … It will not be easy... It will hurt... your feelings as well as your body...

**(The regal lady rises to her feet gracefully, holding her tiara before her. Carefully, she eases the circlet upon her brow, whereupon the crest flares a bright azure, the color of Sasami/Tsunami's hair. Sasami's young voice blends with its mature variation as both fade away completely.)**

**Sasami-Tsunami:** … Please... go to them...

**(Silently, Ayeka nods before she gazes across to the mirror and sees the blue light illuminating the furious look in her amethyst eyes. Calmly, she walks to the door and exits, the glow of her tiara fading into the shadow of her hair in the corridor's brightness.)**

**(Elsewhere, Tenchi Masaki sits in his bed, Tenchiken resting in his hands. Upon his brow, the emerald trio of kites slowly fades away as he hears Sasami's voice whisper to him.)**

**Sasami:** … "Then, I saw him, a knight paladin, shining and true. I could see his eyes, courageous and virtuous. With a white sword, he protected me from the fires." …

**(The crest of the hilt shimmers a soft violet while his father, Nobuyuki, raises his brows, his voice questioning his son.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Tenchi?

**(The young man glances to his father and blinks confusedly.)**

**Tenchi:** Dad?

**(He looks about the room, scratching behind his head as he wonders.)**

**Tenchi:** Where are we? This looks a lot like the Men in Black's hospital.

**(The architect nods, a concerned expression on his face.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, you remember what happened?

**(The prince thinks back: the battle in orbit of Earth with the distortion, being trapped with Ryoko, her anger at the loss of her powers, his own concern for her, and especially his words to her. In this thoughts, he recalls himself saying three particularly powerful words to her ear.)**

**Tenchi:** … I... love... you...

**(Tenchi's heart stirs, those words spiraling around within him. He closes his eyes and silently affirms this. As he recalls the crimson and azure eyes of Ryoshu-Tokimi, he asks of his father.)**

**Tenchi:** … Where's Ryoko?

**(Nobuyuki glances aside, considering the cyan-maned girl in his thoughts.)**

**Nobuyuki:** She's had it kinda rough, her and Nagi both.

**(Tenchi's brows furrow at this.)**

**Tenchi:** Nagi? What's happened?

**(The middle-aged man turns back to his son, his speech somber.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I've only heard it from Dad and a few of the others, about their mother being alive...

**(The young man's eyes widen as his father continues dubiously.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Well... sorta.

**(Tenchi reaches out to his father, resting a hand on his shoulder. The two exchange gazes while a worry rapidly grows in the prince's mind, knowing well the dark matron's power.)**

**Tenchi:** Tokimi?

**(Nobuyuki nods, surprised by his son's knowledge.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, that's what they called her. How'd you...?

**(The youth's eyes harden as he tosses the sheets aside and swings his feet toward the floor. His father grabs his son's shoulders, concerned at his condition.)**

**Nobuyuki:** _Tenchi_! Slow down! You've been in this bed for over two days!

**(Tenchi turns his attention back to his father with his reply.)**

**Tenchi:** I have to make sure she's okay! Tokimi nearly drained the _life _right out of her before!

**(At this, a whoosh of air draws both to the other side of the room, where Ryoko materializes. Her golden eyes fall on Tenchi and fill with a genuine joy at seeing him safe and awake. Softly, she speaks his name, relief in her tone.)**

**Ryoko:** … Tenchi...!!

**(Surprised, the young man blinks dumbly at her before she darts over to him, her feet hovering over the ground. Her arms wrap around him tightly, knocking Nobuyuki aside as she calls his name again.)**

**Ryoko:** Oh, _Tenchi_...!!

**(While the architect steadies himself, Tenchi embraces Ryoko, a confused expression on his face.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko?

**(She looks up to him, and though she scowls, happy tears are in her eyes.)**

**Ryoko:** You know how _fucking_ worried you've had everyone here, you _jackass_!!

**(A humored, and caring, smile spreads across his lips as he warmly holds her.)**

**Tenchi:** … I'm sorry to have worried you.

**(She scoffs and glances aside, her cocky reaction forcing its way forward.)**

**Ryoko:** … I swear... You do this shit _again_, and I'll...!

**(Carefully, he wipes away her tears, and her facade breaks, her golden eyes fixing into the earthen brown of his. Softly, the prince speaks to the lady pirate, his words soothing to her ears.)**

**Tenchi:** It's okay... I'm alright now...

**(At this, she rests her head on his chest, and he pats her back gently before rubbing his hand along her spine, drawing her toward him. Nobuyuki smiles warmly at his son's tenderness, as well as that of the former pirate. Tenchi whispers to her, asking his own worried question.)**

**Tenchi:** … Are you okay?

**(She shakes her head against his chest, her memory recalling the recent events with Dark Ayeka and Ryoshu-Tokimi.)**

**Tenchi:** … What happened?

**(However, his answer comes from the door, in Nagi's voice.)**

**Nagi:** More than enough, Masaki.

**(Those in the room turn to find the huntress standing in the doorway, the two staff keys in her possession. Ryoko blinks in surprise, remembering her half-sister's weary collapse aboard Ken-Ohki. However, her eyes quickly slip down to the bandages upon the huntress's hands.)**

**Ryoko:** … Sis...?

**(With determination written on her face, Nagi marches toward the couple, the staves held tightly in each of her hands.)**

**Nagi:** The bitch is wounded.

**(While Ryoko furrows her brows, Tenchi glances to the keys and, worried, questions the huntress.)**

**Tenchi:** Those are Azaka and Kamidake's. What happened to them?

**(Nagi pauses, a smoldering glare answering Tenchi's question. Ryoko closes her eyes, recalling Kamidake's defeat, and clarifies.)**

**Ryoko:** They went down protecting _me_, Tenchi.

**(Nagi eyes Ryoko oddly while the older sibling returns her gaze, understanding found within.)**

**Ryoko:** My powers were dead, and they had to keep her off me.

**(Tenchi glances between the two while a moment passes. Soon though, Nagi nods, accepting this white lie.)**

**Nagi:** Exactly, but now she's been injured. This is our best opportunity to eliminate her.

**(Ryoko raises her brows and stands with her sister, surprised.)**

**Ryoko:** _Really_? How...?

**(Then, the realization comes to her, recalling Sasami's fading words in her thoughts. Her eyes widen and slowly drift toward the floor, her body suddenly cold. Tenchi stands at her side, whispering the Ryoan woman's name while Nagi coldly shakes her head.)**

**Nagi:** It's immaterial. We should hit her hard, and hit her _now_.

**(At this, Ryoko's hands spark red, her anger and affection churning inside her.)**

**Ryoko:** _Immaterial_?! It was _Sasami_ who did it, you _arrogant_...!!

**(Flaring orbs of power emerge in her hands, highlighting her angry and furious tears. Nagi blinks, honestly surprised at this when Tenchi steps between them, his hands placating Ryoko.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko, _stop_!

**(The cyan-maned woman closes her hands, extinguishing the energy she summoned within her fists. She shuts her eyes tightly while Tenchi wraps his arms around her, letting her cling to him. He smooths her hair quietly as Nagi glances aside, regret in her eyes for her naïve and insensitive words.)**

**(Nobuyuki falls into his chair, aghast as anyone that little Sasami has fallen. Shock bleeds through his expression while he tries to understand, but he just shakes his head, denying this.)**

**Nobuyuki:** She's just a kid...

**(Somberly, Tenchi nods, patting Ryoko's pat gently.)**

**Tenchi:** Yeah... she...

**(He pauses, stifling his own feelings to express himself.)**

**Tenchi:** She's always been a little sister to everyone.

**(He meets Nagi's gaze as he asks her softy.)**

**Tenchi:** Does Ayeka...?

**(However, both of them then see the violet tresses of the elder princess in the doorway. As Tenchi tenses, Ryoko raises her golden eyes to meet the shadow hanging over Ayeka's. Nobuyuki stands slowly, respectfully while Ayeka takes a step inside the tense room, her words quiet, stoic, and quite firm.)**

**Ayeka:** … I know, Lord Tenchi.

**(Ryoko glances to the floor for a moment, gathering her words.)**

**Ryoko:** Ayeka... I'm...

**(Ayeka shakes her head, her hair still masking her eyes as she speaks.)**

**Ayeka:** Ms Ryoko, I have a request to make of you, and your sister.

**(Both Ryoko and Nagi listen to the princess as her head lifts, revealing her burning, furious amethyst eyes. Still cool and patient, she asks her question.)**

**Ayeka:** I ask for vengeance against your mother's form...

**(However, venom seeps into her voice as she concludes.)**

**Ayeka:** … for my _sister_...

**(Nagi advances a step, voicing her own claim.)**

**Nagi:** We have our own stake in this, _princess_.

**(Ayeka's eyes slide to the purple-haired woman, no fear present as the crest of her tiara flares a fierce azure.)**

**Ayeka:** … I'm not here as a princess, huntress.

**(Ryoko eases out of Tenchi's arms and barks at her half-sister.)**

**Ryoko:** Shut _up_, Nagi. She's on our side!

**(Skeptical, Nagi shakes her head, motioning to the regal lady.)**

**Nagi:** The last time we dealt with her, she lead us straight into the enemy's hand.

**(Ayeka lowers her eyes, feeling the gazes of Tenchi and Nobuyuki fall upon her. With a slow, settling breath, she accepts this and raises her eyes from the shadows of her hair, allowing both of them to see her face fully.)**

**Ayeka:** … I did. I accept the repercussions.

**(Ryoko spins to Ayeka and waves this idea aside.)**

**Ryoko:** God, Ayeka! You were _fucking_ _possessed_! Let it _go_ already!

**(A grin crosses the former pirate's lips as she comments.)**

**Ryoko:** Besides, you _definitely_ sound like the stuck up princess again to _me_.

**(A friendly smile appears on the Juraian's face as she nods, her eyes on those of her counterpart.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you... Ryoko.

**(Nagi scowls as she extends Azaka's staff to Ayeka.)**

**Nagi:** Fine. Make yourself useful then.

**(The princess takes the staff in her hands, a bit of confusion in her expression. The huntress clarifies.)**

**Nagi:** These seemed to keep you stable before. And, I'm not very proficient with their use. I believe you are.

**(The regal lady glances to the key for a moment, its headpiece flashing a momentary blue with her tiara. She then nods, confirming the assumption.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you.

**(Next, Nagi turns to Tenchi, her eyes still scornful.)**

**Nagi:** Then, there's you, Masaki.

**(Tenchi blinks dumbly while she explains.)**

**Nagi:** I remember, as most of us likely do, that you held a silvery sword when you fell.

**(He thinks back, remembering the encounter with Ryoshu-Tokimi and his enraged transformation. Ryoko looks at Tenchi, his collapse still very fresh by her growing worry. Ayeka glances away, forcing the image away from her thoughts.)**

**Nagi:** Evidently, another such sword has appeared, and it could actually damage her shields, her "Light Hawk Wings". Does yours?

**(Tenchi takes a breath, calming his nerves as he recalls the crimson lashes binding and burning him.)**

**Tenchi:** … Yeah, it did.

**(Nagi motions to Tenchiken, her intent clear.)**

**Nagi:** Show me.

**(Ryoko advances, calling to Tenchi.)**

**Ryoko:** Tenchi...

**(The huntress grabs her arm, interrupting her. The two exchange gazes as Nagi emphasizes her posture.)**

**Nagi:** I can cut through her _NVO_ barriers and constructs, but I _can't_ damage her wings. We _need_ his sword.

**(Ryoko's pulls her arm away before Tenchi raises his hand to her. She glances toward him as he speaks.)**

**Tenchi:** Ryoko, she's right.

**(Concerned, the former pirate furrows her brows. Similarly, Nobuyuki approaches his son, setting a hand on his shoulder. His own worry showing, the architect questions the prince.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Are you sure about this, Tenchi? You were pretty badly hurt.

**(Tenchi's brown eyes meet those of his father as he replies, honest and clear.)**

**Tenchi:** I have to try, Dad. From what I saw of her, Tokimi won't stop when she's done here.

**(Reluctantly, Nobuyuki nods, accepting this. He pats his son's shoulder, a slight grin of pride beneath his concern. He steps back, as to the others when Tenchi raises his key before him. His eyes close as he takes a slow breath. The crest of the hilt shimmers a deep violet, and soon, the rest of the device glows a bright emerald.)**

**(Around the room, the other four keys react to Tenchiken, their crests glowing to life. Ayeka and Nagi both note this curiously, though the tiara quickly shifts to blue. A chill rushes through the princess as her eyes fall on Tenchi, a gasp issuing from her lips. To her eyes, she can see a radiant light flowing within the young prince.)**

**(To both the ears of Tenchi and Ayeka, a medley of voices whisper a single word, "Ready?" As before, he opens his eyes and nods, three green kites appearing together on his forehead. A wave of light passes over him, covering his body in a white gi and hakama of Juraian design.)**

**(His hand opens, allowing Tenchiken to unravel and reveal its hidden structure. The vines weave together into the form of the broadsword before a silvery wake passes over them, completing the transformation.)**

**(Elsewhere, the sword taken from Pii and used against Tsunami flashes a bright white, drawing the glare of a crimson and azure eye. Ryoshu-Tokimi's violet claws grab the sword, though it strikes back with sparks of argent lightning, carving gashes into the already marred hand.)**

**(As the light around him dims, Ayeka sighs, the extra sights seen by her eyes leaving her confused. Carefully, Tenchi lowers the mighty weapon at his side, though a lightheaded feeling washes over him. Ryoko and Nobuyuki both quickly rush to him, but he waves them off.)**

**Tenchi:** I'm fine...

**(He grins wryly, commenting as he regains his footing.)**

**Tenchi:** It's a weird feeling at first.

**(Nagi nods, pleased to see the blade once more.)**

**Nagi:** Good. Then, let's put an end to this bitch.

**(Tenchi agrees in silence while Ayeka holds the blue staff key close, revenge in her eyes.)**

**Ayeka:** … Yes, let's...

**(Ryoko cracks her knuckles and stands alongside Tenchi, a heated glare crossing her face.)**

**Ryoko:** I've been waiting for this.

**(She raises her hand before them, and as the gem in her bracelet flares red, a portal appears, showing the shattered city above. Nagi, however, turns to her and shakes her head.)**

**Nagi:** I don't know how you regained your powers, Ryoko, but they weren't of much use against her before.

**(Ryoko's eyes slide to her half-sister as she raises her left wrist, showing the gemstone hanging against her skin.)**

**Ryoko:** A little _gift_ from Sasami...

**(The glare in her eyes sharpens as she adds.)**

**Ryoko:** … and I hope "mom" _hates_ it.

**(Tenchi grins to himself while Ayeka eyes the gem distantly. Her heart beats cold, her mind setting her longing for the prince and the loss of her sister aside. Nagi accepts this with a smirk.)**

**Nagi:** Indeed.

**(Ryoko then motions to the crimson staff key in her sister's hands. The huntress furrows her brows at her request.)**

**Ryoko:** Mind if I take that?

**(The purple-haired woman glances at the device for a moment, hesitant, but the former pirate reminds her.)**

**Ryoko:** You said yourself that you're not too good with those. Besides, you'll be too busy trying to keep that two-power sword of yours under control.

**(Their eyes meet when with a wink, Ryoko adds in a whisper.)**

**Ryoko:** … and, I'll be careful with it...

**(Reluctantly, Nagi relents, handing Kamidake's staff to Ryoko. In her hands, the headpiece pulses once with her gem, the two syncing together. Her brows rise, the sensation foreign to her. Nagi grins, commenting.)**

**Nagi:** Takes some getting used to.

**(Ryoko scoffs.)**

**Ryoko:** I'm a faster learner, unlike you.

**(The sisters exchange a rival's glare before they turn to the gateway. Nagi takes her key from her hair, its crest and gem shining together. As it wraps around her hand, the two advance toward the portal and pass through it.)**

**(Ayeka steps forward, stealing a brief glance back to Tenchi. He notes the sadness in her eyes, but she joins Ryoko and Nagi on the streets of Manhattan before he can speak. At his son's side, Nobuyuki comments somberly.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Be careful, and look after them.

**(Thoughtfully, and with a twinge of guilt, the young man nods, advancing to the gate himself. His father watches silently, a worry hanging in his heart as the portal fades away.)**

Scene 3 – Inevitable

**(Will Pii winces as he pushes himself upright on an infirmary bed. His armor has since been repaired, the claw marks and damage from the recent battle no longer visible. Similarly, his wounds have been dressed or mended. Washu Hakubi waves her phantom laptop aside when she turns to the young man. The planes of light that had been scanning over him vanish while the genius regards him curiously, particularly the black blade shimmering on his forehead.)**

**Washu:** How're you feeling?

**(He rests his fingers along his brow, aches across his body. The image on his skin fades away, catching the scientist's attention. The hunter takes a breath and answers.)**

**Pii:** … Like I got my ass kicked...

**(She scoffs, her eyes sliding to her computer's screen. There, meters gauge his vital statistics, as well as ambient energies within the room. Specifically, two spikes are evident: "NVO" and "Ryoan". Humored, she comments.)**

**Washu:** She certainly did do that.

**(A chill rushes down his back at the statement, images flickering through his thoughts: Nerti's eyes glowing red and blue, his sword plunging into her chest, and Ryoshu-Tokimi's icy gaze. He raises his sight to the Ryoan researcher with a question.)**

**Pii:** Where is Nerti?

**(Washu closes her eyes, her head tilting aside with her calm answer.)**

**Washu:** You don't remember?

**(Pii shakes his head, the memories jumbled in his mind. While he rubs his eyes, the Ryoan scientist glances to the EEG diagram on her screen. There, three signals are shown: one strong and well-defined, one mild and intermittent, and the last the sum of the two.)**

**Pii:** Not very well. A lot of it's a blur.

**(She enters a few strokes into her laptop, playing back the end of the battle between Ryoshu-Tokimi and Pii. Clearly, she watches Ryoshu-Tokimi pull a luminescent female figure from Pii's body. At this, she turns the display toward the hunter, showing him the dark matron forcing the figure back into Nerti's body. His eyes widen, viewing Nerti's breath returning to fuel her pained screams as Ryoshu-Tokimi pulls his sword from her chest.)**

**(Shock prevents him from forming words at this scene, but Washu speaks for him while he watches Ryoshu-Tokimi take the crystalline sword from his fallen form.)**

**Washu:** This is the last footage we have of her. She's alive, wounded...

**(The shock in Pii's face melts into a scowl as he watches the dark matron vanish along with Nerti, leaving his motionless body on the battlefield.)**

**Washu:** And in the hands of the Enemy.

**(The hunter's fingers claw at the mattress beneath him, just as the frustration swirls around his chest. He curses under his breath while Washu taps a few more keys. The display then shows him wielding this crystalline sword. As his eyes burn gold, he swings the blade into one of Ryoshu-Tokimi's Light Hawk Wings, cracking and damaging it.)**

**(Pii blinks at this, surprised at the image. Washu raises a brow, commenting.)**

**Washu:** Looks like this is another part that slipped your mind.

**(She pauses the video and motions to the sword.)**

**Washu:** This weapon did what all of our other attempts have failed to do, damage her so-called "Light Hawk Wings".

**(The Terran furrows his brows, trying as he might to recall the image of himself being shown.)**

**Pii:** I don't remember that at all.

**(The Ryoan glances toward him, irritation in her expression.)**

**Washu:** Whether or not you remember isn't the issue. _You_ wielded this sword and damaged the Enemy's primary defense mechanism. Given the nature of its creation, it's very likely that the only ones who _could _wield it are either you or Nerti.

**(Pii stands and faces the scientist, his frustration fueled by her tone.)**

**Pii:** Kinda hard to swing it when it's in _her_ hands.

**(Washu nods, accepting this.)**

**Washu:** True, but that can be changed.

**(With a wave of her hand, a hole in reality appears, and she reaches into it to procure a rifle-like device. The basic design is that of Pii's laser rifle, but it carries twin barrels, mounted one over the other. Also, two canisters are attached on either side, each glowing either emerald or crimson.)**

**(Washu holds the weapon carefully and explains while Pii examines it himself.)**

**Washu:** When we fired the dual cannon, there was an effect on her wing. While it did hold, it also started to oscillate in and out of this physical plane. The ethereal barrier remained unchanged, which is why the attack did not actually harm her.

**(He lowers a brow, frustration changing to impatience.)**

**Pii:** I _do_ remember that part, doctor.

**(She sighs and clarifies, distaste in her voice.)**

**Washu:** Point is, while the wing is in flux, it can't block kinetic energy or mass.

**(She points to the upper barrel.)**

**Washu:** This fires a dual burst of pseudo-Jurai and NVO from the attached canisters.

**(Her finger slides to the lower barrel.)**

**Washu:** This is a high-speed rocket-propelled grenade. When the trigger is depressed, the top barrel fires first, and the second follows after a short delay to ensure the wing is in flux. The grenade will pass through the oscillating wing, allowing it to hit its target.

**(She hands the weapon to Pii, who hefts its weight for a moment. However, he considers her idea.)**

**Pii:** Why not just blow her up where she stands?

**(Her head shakes with her answer.)**

**Washu:** Won't work. This will rip through her outer defenses and oscillate her wing, but it won't affect any personal shielding she has after that. Energy weapons have already proven ineffective, and conventional ordinance is primarily concussive. That should be enough to knock the sword from her hand.

**(The hunter lowers the weapon to his side with a scoff.)**

**Pii:** I guess I can't just go full-auto.

**Washu:** No, there's just the one shot, primarily from the remains of the original cannon and samples I've taken from the dark staves. You should also be at close fairly close range so she can't dodge or teleport in time.

**(He nods and takes a calming breath, though one last question lingers on his lips.)**

**Pii:** And, Nerti?

**(His somber brown eyes meet the cool green of hers. Though she answers him with reason and fact, a solemnity in her voice reflects her own concern.)**

**Washu:** Tokimi has some design for her, or she wouldn't have tried to take her. I have little doubt that Nerti's far away.

**(Pii ponders this when a tone rises from Washu's laptop. Both turn to it and note a sudden spike in Jurai-type energy within the building. While the scientist furrows her brows and enters commands into the computer, Pii inquires.)**

**Pii:** What's going on?

**(On screen, a diagram of Tenchi's silver sword appears alongside a second image of a vortex. Washu grins to herself as she answers.)**

**Washu:** Looks like you'll have company.

**(With a few keystrokes, she creates a doorway of her own, opening to the shattered city of Manhattan. The researcher then gravely turns to him.)**

**Washu:** Remember. That crystalline sword is what can really do damage to her wings. It's your priority.

**(Pii's expression settles into determination as he acknowledges this. The hunter holds the dual rifle before him and steps into the portal. However, Washu glances to her laptop, where monitors and meters display telemetry under "Pii, William" with "Recording" plainly printed.)**

**(On the streets of Manhattan, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ayeka, and Nagi stand together. The young prince holds his own silvery sword at his side, dressed in the white gi and hakama of a Juraian warrior. The triple-kite symbol of his power shimmers emerald on his forehead while he looks at the surrounding devastation. Though his expression is somber, he is also focused, his guard set.)**

**(Ryoko twirls Kamidake's staff in her right hand, likewise scanning the area around them. Dressed in her well known striped dress, the former pirate levitates from the ground, her golden eyes continuing the search for their enemy. Around her left wrist, a golden bracelet rests, its gem glowing a soft crimson. The Ryoan's yellow, feline eyes slightly scowl, a desire to act quite evident.)**

**(Ayeka holds Azaka's staff close, its headpiece and her tiara's crest illuminated a subtle azure. Her kimono is torn and tattered from her own previous encounters with the dark matron. Her amethyst eyes are narrowed and her muscles tense, withholding the burning fury of an elder sister for revenge. Behind the regal lady, her violet hair trails loose and unbound like the train of a forgotten bride.)**

**(Nagi grips her fingers about the hairband key encircling her right hand. Its crest shimmers a violet hue while the gem set on the opposite side burns a shade of scarlet, both synchronized to her dual powers. Her cape shrouds her shoulders, as well as the rapier and whip at her side. Her heated gaze follows the torn terrain, seeking the common enemy of this group.)**

**(To their side, a portal opens, gaining the attention of the entire quartet. They raise their respective weapons, but it is Pii who steps out of the warp in space. Carrying Washu's rifle weapon, he glances around the others. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Nagi lower their keys, a little relief written on each of their faces.)**

**(However, Ayeka still keeps her eyes trained on the Terran hunter. To her eyes, she sees an onyx power flowing through him, unfocused and undirected throughout his entire form. Her skin crawls looking at him, causing her to grip the blue staff tightly.)**

**(Tenchi smiles at Pii, extending his hand.)**

**Tenchi:** Haven't seen you in a while.

**(Pii scoffs with a smirk, shaking the prince's hand.)**

**Pii:** Yeah. You're looking better.

**Tenchi:** Thanks.

**(Nagi glares at the other hunter, a hand set on her hip.)**

**Nagi:** What the hell are you doing here?

**(Irritated, he purses his lips and sarcastically replies.)**

**Pii:** Nice to see you too.

**(He hefts the rifle into his grasp and nods to it.)**

**Pii:** Dr Hakubi offers her regards, a little fire support.

**(Tenchi and Ryoko both smile wryly at the mention of Washu.)**

**Ryoko:** Great. As if the island wasn't already blown to hell.

**(Nagi steps closer to continue her inquiry, but Ayeka suddenly turns aside at a icy feeling through her veins. She calls to Tenchi, gaining the attention of the others when a wave of black swoops down toward them.)**

**(Immediately, the young prince slides forward and extends his hand. The emblem on his skin glows brightly as three Light Hawk Wings appear before him. Each widens to overlap with the others, guarding the group from the coming force.)**

**(After the wake of the wave has passed, the quintet can see a single female figure floating closer. Before she can come into view, Ayeka can already see the vibrant onyx and crimson light pulsing through the Enemy. The princess's gaze narrows furiously, her hands clutching the azure staff at the ready.)**

**(In moments, the other four can see their foe clearly. The living flames of her torn and bloodied combat attire caress her body, each laceration and tatter blending into the swirling blaze. The talons of her gloves, some broken or cracked, grip the hilts of both Kagato's dark sword key and Pii's argent crystalline sword. White sparks arc from the crystalline blade and burn her hand, demanding to be released. Her scarlet bracers and shin guards cling to her body, each stressed and shattered. Across her back, the staves of Tetta and Tessei adhere to the brier hairband and thorn tiara wrapped about either of her shoulders.)**

**(Jade leaves swirl around her neck but vanish behind a white, porcelain mask. Through the elegantly decorated eyes, crimson and azure burn brightly. Her tan hair falls haphazardly around the smooth texture of the mask. However, many of these locks of hair are scorched, much like the streamer headdress which passes over her scalp.)**

**(The lips of the mask remain emotionless as she speaks only in the celestial voices, not in Ryoshu Ryua's.)**

**Tokimi:** Children of Jurai, of Earth.

**(With a wave of her hand, three Light Hawk Wings appear and smash into Tenchi's barrier, both sets of wings shattering on impact. The young prince hastily raises his sword, Ryoko and Nagi already flanking him.)**

**Tokimi:** Children of a dying light.

**(Pii takes a knee and raises the rifle, a bead of sweat on his brow as his pupils narrow on the silvery blade in her right hand. Around the enemy, seven wings appear full and bright, but eight more flicker into existence for a moment before completely vanishing. A scowl etches itself in the white mask as Kagato's sword opens and flares its edge.)**

**Tokimi:** Children who have interfered far too often.

**(Ryoko and Nagi grit their teeth, each holding their respective weapon. The elder takes a breath, her renewed power illuminating Kamidake's headpiece as she tenses, ready to dart at the enemy. A curse escapes her lips.)**

**Ryoko:** … You _bitch_...!

**(Yet, with a flare of blue light, Ayeka rockets forward at Tokimi, Azaka's staff and her tiara aflame with the princess's fury. While her feet coast over the broken asphalt and concrete, the regal lady's train of hair curls and shifts to an azure color, that of Tsunami herself. A Mark of Rage etches itself into her cheeks with her rage and power. She holds the blue staff ahead of her, its headpiece set to skewer the dark matron.)**

**(Tenchi and Ryoko both call out to her, but revenge consumes the princess's eyes as she thrusts her staff at Tokimi. Like a great torrent, Ayeka's power splashes against the fiery defenses, the collision rending the barrier to purple ash. However, a Light Hawk Wing drifts between the staff's headpiece and the Ryoan deity, firmly holding the Juraian away.)**

**(Coldly, Tokimi's gaze slides to Ayeka.)**

**Tokimi:** Join your sister.

**(Two more wings sharpen into blades and swoop down toward the princess. She glances upward when Ryoko appears and wraps an arm around her. Together, the two vanish before the wings embed themselves in the ground below.)**

**(The lips of Tokimi's mask curl at this while Tenchi and Nagi dart at her. The prince draws his sword to strike, his three wings materializing around him. Nagi's mark of rage scrawls a mirrored version on her right cheek as her dual blade flares from her key, Ryoan and Juraian energies coalescing into its serrated edge. However, the scarlet gem burns with Ryoan fire, stabilizing the new weapon for her use.)**

**(Tokimi takes a step back, three of her wings falling down into Tenchi's to shatter them. Her remaining wing descends before Nagi's edge, stopping her advance while the dark matron raises the crystalline blade to clash and grind against Tenchi's silver broadsword. White and black filaments burst from the swords' contact, showering around the three combatants.)**

**(Tokimi thrusts at Tenchi with Kagato's blade, but he dodges, spinning away from her. Nagi strikes her sword down toward the dark key, but the matron draws her weapon back. From the tainted staves crossed on her back, Tokimi sends pulses of her power at Nagi's dual blade. The huntress raises her sword and swipes into these orbs, the dual edge dissipating both of them with onyx bursts.)**

**(While Tenchi and Nagi engage Tokimi, Ryoko and Ayeka reappear nearby Pii. The hunter turns to them while the former pirate helps the princess to her feet. Concerned, Ryoko inquires of her friend.)**

**Ryoko:** Ayeka, are you...?

**(Yet, Ayeka interrupts, pushing Ryoko aside.)**

**Ayeka:** Behind you!

**(Ryoko and Pii both spin to see Tokimi slide away from Tenchi and Nagi. With a swipe of Kagato's sword, the dark staves fly free from her back, their headpieces spinning wildly. As the matron turns to block Tenchi and Nagi, the staves turn toward Ryoko, Ayeka, and Pii.)**

**(A flood of black power bursts away from the keys. The princess aims Azaka's staff at this and releases her own wave of power in reply. The two waves collide, colored ash and sparks showering those below. Ayeka's two keys flare a brilliant azure as she holds the opposing force at bay.)**

**(Then, Ryoko raises Kamidake's staff and focuses her energies into her hands. The key reacts, as does the gem in her bracelet, by glowing a deep red. From the headpiece of the weapon, a torrent of blazing power explodes in a beam, joining Ayeka's initial attack.)**

**(The princess glances to the former pirate, who grimaces, her focus on the will flowing through her. A distant grin melts into Ayeka's face before she turns her attention back to the two dark staves. Together, the two women pour red and blue fury, forcing the blackness back toward the twisted keys.)**

**(Pii's planar wings open as he rises and sets his attention on Tokimi, Washu's rifle close. He takes to the air and approaches the battle between Tokimi and the pair of Tenchi and Nagi. However, these three continue their dance of death, swords clashing and Light Hawk Wings smashing one another. His feet touch ground nearby, where he takes a knee and aims once again. Under his breath, he comments sarcastically.)**

**Pii:** No pressure... Not like she'll destroy the planet or anything...

**(While Pii bides his time, three Light Hawk Wings swoop into the fray, deflecting the power of Ryoko and Ayeka. The two women cease their attacks while the two dark staves align themselves, their headpieces opposing one another. A wing coils itself around the keys, sealing them together. Black power brims from their headpieces, manifesting a humanoid form with the keys centered along its spine. The remaining two wings expand themselves behind the construct, extending feather-like protrusions to either side.)**

**(This dark angel flies at Ryoko and Ayeka, its talons drawn to strike them. The Ryoan teleports away while the Juraian swings her staff key at the beast. The creature catches the staff and holds it, a toothy maw opening to roar at the princess. Yet, her cyan-haired companion reappears behind the twisted angel, Kamidake's staff in her left hand. She summons her red-colored Jurai energy to free hand, forming a flaring katana. She stabs this into the construct's back, drawing purple blood while the sword's flames scorch its false flesh to ash.)**

**(In response, its feather-like Light Hawk Wings sharpen with a shrill metallic tone, grasping Ryoko's attention. With a quick breath, she draws the sword back just as these spikes extend rapidly at her. Unable to teleport in time, she braces to be struck when the three scarlet discs shine into view on her forehead. From around her shoulders, two Light Hawk Wings emerge and clash into the incoming spikes, both pairs shattering on impact.)**

**(The gem on her bracelet burns brightly as Tsunami's voice echoes in her mind. Ayeka shivers as she too hears her sister's words, her own tiara glowing in unison with the gem.)**

**Tsunami:** Awaken, Ryua Ryoko...

**(The former pirate nods as black marks scrawl down both sides of her face. The creature between the two women shudders, turning its head back to see Ryoko's wings reform along her shoulders. They encircle her, sending a wave of white that shifts her dress into a black and red uniform, much like her classic one. Crimson flames of the costume embrace her, similar to Tokimi's current attire, but her bracelet integrates itself as a star-burst of gold around the gem. Tsunami's voice fades from the women's minds as both send their power to their staves.)**

**Tsunami:** Retake your name, daughter of Ryua...

**(Ryoko's wings arc forward and smash into Tokimi's wing holding the dark keys together. The three shatter on impact, causing the creature to roar in pain. Ayeka wrests Azaka's staff free and plunges its spinning headpiece into the monster's chest. Likewise, Ryoko does the same with Kamidake's staff into the construct's back. Together, their light explodes through the entity, rending its into body purple ash. The two dark staff keys clatter to the ground, silent and beaten.)**

**(Ryoko and Ayeka gather their breath, exchanging a glance. In the silence, Ryoko motions toward the other battle, and certain, her friend nods. Together, the two turn toward the enemy and dart once again into the fray.)**

**(With Tenchi and Nagi, the two swing their swords, only to be deflected by Tokimi's crystalline sword and wing, respectively. As the dark matron arcs Kagato's sword toward Nagi, a crimson katana flies in and embeds itself within the matron's forearm. The three combatants spin to see Ryoko and Ayeka, both holding the staff keys at the ready.)**

**(A scowl crosses Tokimi's mask as three of her wings appear and shoot toward the incoming pair. However, Ryoko's wings manifest, immediately shattering two of these. Before the third can strike either woman, Ryoko takes Ayeka's forearm and teleports the two away.)**

**(Tokimi pushes Tenchi and Nagi away when Ryoko and Ayeka reappear nearby, their staves charged and thrusting forward. The dark woman avoids these, slashing at the pair with her two swords.)**

**(Ayeka raises her staff to block Kagato's sword while one of Ryoko's wings appears to stop the crystalline blade. On impact, that wing is cracked, surprising the former pirate. The princess's power floods through her keys, letting her force the dark sword away. The crystalline sword grinds against Ryoko's wing as two of Tokimi's appear around her. With a frustrated breath, the young woman vanishes, letting the enemy's wings only destroy her cracked shield. However, Tokimi slides forward and thrusts the hilt of Kagato's sword into Ayeka's abdomen, robbing her of her wind.)**

**(Tokimi turns toward the recovering Juraian, both swords ready to strike as she comments.)**

**Tokimi:** Your death has been long coming, daughter of Jurai.

**(Tenchi calls to the princess, his wings appearing and shooting toward the enemy. Effortlessly, Tokimi's seven wings appear, three shattering Tenchi's. Ryoko reappears with her own pair of Light Hawk Wings, but two of Tokimi's shatter hers as well. Tenchi and Nagi both swipe with their swords, clashing against the final two wings, the prince's silver blade cracking one of them. Ryoko's staff blasts forth crimson light, but a swipe of Kagato's sword sends a dark wave to deflect this offense.)**

**(As Tokimi raises the crystalline sword at Ayeka, Pii calls out to Nagi.)**

**Pii:** _Nagi_!!

**(The huntress glances back to see her Terran counterpart aiming the dual rifle at the wing before her. She immediately rolls aside as he pulls the trigger. From the weapon, a fiery pulse of swirling energies shoots forward, black and white intertwined. This impacts Tokimi's wing, sending into a phasing flux.)**

**(The dark matron glances aside just as the rocket-propelled grenade passes through the phased wing and approaches her right hand. Ayeka takes the opportunity to jump clear, but Tokimi slashes Kagato's sword through the grenade, drawing the crystalline sword behind her. The explosive detonates, staggering her for a moment, but her grip on the silver sword remains firm.)**

**(Pii curses as he tosses the smoking weapon, its canisters now spent. Tokimi vanishes while Tenchi and Ryoko both rush to Ayeka's side. As Nagi rises, the enemy materializes with her, swiping her swords at the huntress. The purple-haired woman slips away from the strike of the crystalline sword and smashes her sword through Kagato's blade.)**

**(However, her follow-through is cut short by one of the enemy's wings. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka spin toward their comrade. Immediately, Ryoko teleports to her half-sister's side and plunges one of her wings into Tokimi's. Her other wing blocks and cracks when the dark matron retaliates.)**

**(Nagi thrusts her flaming blade forward, but a Light Hawk Wing greets it. Tenchi and Ayeka approach, but Tokimi tosses Kagato's sword hilt at them. In its flight, the twisted key is enveloped in onyx power. As with the staves, four of her wings appear near the key, one encircling the hilt to form a hand. The energies then construct a body around this. The hilt extends its red and black blade again as the creature descends toward the two nobles.)**

**(Tenchi pulls Ayeka aside to avoid the enemy's strike. The two face the construct, the other three Light Hawk Wings encircling it. Two of these coil down the entity's arms, forming a type of bladed armor while the third expands slightly, hovering near the creature's free hand like a shield.)**

**(While Tenchi grips his silver sword and Ayeka the azure staff to face this foe, Ryoko and Nagi face Tokimi herself. The elder sibling's wings unfurl, and the younger readies her dual sword. The dark matron grips the crystalline sword with both hands, ready to strike again. However, explosive darts impact a spherical field around the enemy. Ryoko and Nagi glance aside to see Pii aiming his dart launcher, his own frustration evident.)**

**(Coldly, Tokimi's shimmering eyes turn toward him.)**

**Tokimi:** Enough from you, Terran.

**(With a gesture of her offhand, crimson lashes appear at her fingertips and swat Pii back into the stone wall behind him. His wind knocked from him, the hunter collapses while the matron regards the two daughters of Ryua. Both take a defensive posture while Ryoko barks at their foe.)**

**Ryoko:** Not going to try and talk us into siding with you?

**(Tokimi shakes her head, her answer passionless.)**

**Tokimi:** You have made your choice, just like my own sister has.

**(With this, she swings the crystalline sword at the siblings. Ryoko's wings instinctively cross to block the blade, both cracking under its impact. The two then retaliate with their keys, the battle joined once more.)**

**(Elsewhere, within the MiB infirmary, Mihoshi holds her arms tightly, worry written on her face. Outside the surgical ward, she stands alone, her eyes cast to the floor in wait. However, a dread hangs over her, chilling the blonde's skin.)**

**(A hand rests on her shoulder, stirring her atttention to meet her visitor. Nobuyuki Masaki softly expresses his own concern.)**

**Nobuyuki:** How is she?

**(The GP officer closes her blue eyes, clutching her arms tighter.)**

**Mihoshi:** L says she'll recover... but... after Mitsuki...

**(Her gaze slides aside, starting to emerge. The architect grips her shoulder tighter, nodding.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I know... It's hard to lose someone...

**(Knowingly, he thinks back to the time he sat at his late wife's bedside, her gentle smile welcoming him. The saline rolls down Mihoshi's eyes as she speaks, her voice trembling.)**

**Mihoshi:** Mitsuki, Kiyone, and I graduated together... We promised to be friends forever...

**(He nods, easing her down toward a nearby chair. They seat themselves, him across from her. His hands encircle hers, drawing her attention up to his understanding face. With a warm smile, Nobuyuki pats her hand and continues.)**

**Nobuyuki:** And, you still are.

**(Mihoshi's fingers curl around his as a sob or two escape her lips.)**

**Mihoshi:** I feel so helpless... She killed Mitsuki... and almost got Kiyone too...

**(He nods, knowing this well himself.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I know how you feel. We've watched them all do amazing things.

**(The Japanese man's lips then grin supportively when he adds.)**

**Nobuyuki:** But, you were right with them the whole time, and so was Kiyone. You're both just as brave.

**(Understanding, Mihoshi nods, accepting this. Nearby, a flicker of bright white light catches the eyes of them both. The two stand and face a pinpoint of silver, which soon expands along the couch nearby. Mihoshi advances a step, nervously reaching for her sidearm, but the light takes a humanoid shape, that of a teenage girl.)**

**(Around her, a veil of hair cascades over her developing form, no more than fifteen years of age. Both Mihoshi and Nobuyuki blink in surprise when the light dims to reveal her hair color the purest azure, her face that of a partially matured Sasami Jurai. Unconscious, she falls limp onto the couch, her chest pressed against the fabric under her weight.)**

**(The blonde officer dashes to the girl's side, calling to her while Nobuyuki furrows his brows, confused.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Is that...? How...?

**(Quickly, Mihoshi checks Sasami's slow breathing. Gently, she pushes the princess's locks away from her forehead, finding her skin vacant of the two triangle emblem of Tsunami's power, as well as its twin disc variant. Setting her wrist to the girl's forehead, she finds a distinct chill to her skin. She turns to the architect behind her, concerned.)**

**Mihoshi:** She's ice cold!

**(He urgently nods.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I'll get a doctor!

**(While he dashes off calling for a physician, Mihoshi removes her GP jacket and wraps it around Sasami's shoulders. The officer holds the young princess close, whispering softly.)**

**Mihoshi:** It's okay... We're here...

**(In the battle, Tenchi strikes downward with his silvery sword, his dark enemy sliding away. The creature swings Kagato's black blade toward the young man, but Ayeka intervenes, Azaka's staff blocking the edge.)**

**(The prince spins to retaliate, but the opponent raises his arm to block, the encircling Light Hawk Wing cracking under the weapon. The staff's headpiece whirls and burns a bright blue as the princess's power issues through it. Pressing forward, she shatters the sword's blade and raises her weapon to cut a path along the monster's chest. Softly, Sasami's voice narrates, matured but not that of Tsunami.)**

**Sasami:** "I saw a woman of the Light, brilliance burning through the ranks."

**(As the creature recoils, Tenchi's three Light Hawk Wings appear and arc into the wings around its arms and the free shield. These annihilate one another while he steps closer, his sword already in motion.)**

**(The creature vanishes and reappears over the pair. Quickly, it reforms Kagato's sword and descends on them, roaring. Both glance up, Tenchi drawing his sword back and Ayeka aiming the staff. With a burst of brilliant blue, the regal lady's energy shoots at the enemy, a torrent of light. However, it rolls aside, the black sword directed at the prince.)**

**(Tenchi leaps slides aside, letting the monster pass. He then swipes his silvery sword at the beast. It turns and blocks with its sword hilt, embraced by its last Light Hawk Wing. This construct cracks with the prince's strike while Tenchi's wings appear around him.)**

**Sasami:** "Then, I saw him, a knight paladin, shining and true."

**(One of his wings smashes into the creature's last bit of ethereal protection as Ayeka rushes to his side and thrusts the staff's headpiece into the beast's abdomen. When her power floods through it, the enemy shrieks, its body reduced to purple ash.)**

**(While Kagato's sword key clatters impotently to the ground, Ryoko teleports before Tokimi, Kamidake's staff whirling with a fiery crimson light. The matron swings her crystalline sword, but the former pirate merely vanishes again to avoid it. She reappears behind and close to the Ryoan deity, releasing the red energy in a blaze of fury.)**

**(However, a wing of the matron materializes to deflect this. Ryoko's wings flash into being, but two more of Tokimi's appear to cancel them almost immediately. With a curse under her breath, the former pirate teleports a distance away. She holds the Juraian staff in her left hand while she summons her ruby light into her enhanced katana, her glare set hotly on her adversary.)**

**Sasami:** "But, at his side was a Shadow, its blade fierce and bloody."

**(Behind Tokimi, Nagi's dual sword thrusts forward, her key brimming with the powers of Jurai and Ryua as one. The matron turns to her, a wing appearing to defend her. The huntress strikes time and again, but the wing moves to deflect it.)**

**(Tokimi advances, her crystalline sword swinging at the serrated weapon. Quickly, Nagi flies back and away, careful to be sure her blade does not collide with that of her enemy. Ryoko appears at her half-sister's side, her two wings arcing at the matron. Yet, the deity manifests more of her own wings to cancel the Ryoan's assistance.)**

**(The wing which had been blocking Nagi then sharpens and shoots at her. Quickly, she ducks and rushes forward, the dual sword drawn to cut.)**

**Sasami:** "In his right hand burned the Light, but his left was consumed by the Dark."

**(A wing appears to block her, but a torrent of azure washes over Tokimi's barriers. Ayeka stands firm, the staff and tiara keys funneling her will at her foe. Likewise, Tenchi approaches from the deity's right, silver sword cutting down at its dual.)**

**(Tokimi turns to clash the crystalline blade against its opposite, showering them both in an explosion of white and black. Ayeka and Nagi step back while Ryoko teleports close, her crimson sword thrusting forward. The Ryoan edge shatters against a Light Hawk Wing, bringing a frustrated expression to the former pirate's face.)**

**(As these four face Tokimi together, Pii pushes himself from the broken concrete, raising his brown eyes to the nearby battle. His teeth gnash as he grips his fist closed, wanting to join the assault.)**

**(Together, Tenchi and Ryoko send their combined five wings at Tokimi, but the matron manifests her functioning seven, canceling those of her opponents. The remaining two deflect the power of Ayeka and the blade of Nagi, leaving the deity free to swing her crystalline sword at Tenchi.)**

**(When he blocks with his own argent weapon, Ryoko swoops into the fray, Kamidake's staff already swinging down. Together, the torn tiara and brier hairband keys on Tokimi flare a bright scarlet. The matron's free hand rises to Ryoko and issues forth the power of these two keys, an inferno of red and black.)**

**(The former pirate stops and guards, her Light Hawk Wings appearing instinctively to protect her. Ayeka then steps forward, her azure squall bursting from Azaka's key. Her tiara shines just as brightly as her power crosses with Tokimi's. Behind her mask, the dark matron's eyes widen at the blended energies, which then ignite.)**

**(The four are thrown back and away from the matron while she herself is staggered, her grip on the crystalline sword loosened. Pii raises his dart launcher and fires, the small explosive embedding in the back of Tokimi's hand. The dart blossoms in fire and smoke, rending the silver weapon from her hand.)**

**(The hunter's pack propels him forward, hand extended for the crystalline blade. As he nears, the red and blue eyes of the matron sight him. Her claws reach for the sword as well, but the wings of Tenchi and Ryoko appear before her, halting her grasp.)**

**(Pii's hand grips the sword's hilt before he touches ground near Tenchi. In the Terran's ears, Nerti's whispers are heard once more, sending a chill down his spine. His eyes shift to feline shape and grey color, and then to a glimmering gold. As he takes the blade in both hands, the crimson gem in its hilt flashes a pure white.)**

**Sasami:** "His eyes burned gold as the Darkness consumed him, and he spewed it back, White and pure."

**(Tokimi turns to the group, her black force gathering in her hands. Her wings open and shoot toward the five opposing her. Tenchi and Ryoko open their wings to defend, but Pii also raises a hand at Nerti's word, summoning a sixth. On his forehead, the black and white blades appear, crossing one another as the wings shatter around them.)**

**(As a shower of Light Hawk Wing shards descends on the group, the final glowing construct is knocked away by Pii, the crystalline sword cracking the ethereal structure. Ayeka's eyes widen at this, an idea already in mind.)**

**(However, before she can speak, Tokimi teleports among them, her claws lashing out at both her and Nagi. The two women guard quickly while the other three turn their weapons to the Ryoan matron.)**

**(In the MiB infirmary, a swarm of physicians rolls young Sasami down a corridor upon a gurney, headed to the intensive care ward. Mihoshi and Nobuyuki follow, explaining what they know to one of the doctors.)**

**Mihoshi:** She just kinda... appeared.

**Nobuyuki:** We don't really know how. We found her like this.

**(Worried, Mihoshi inquires.)**

**Mihoshi:** Is she going to be okay?

**(The doctor glances to Sasami and answers coldly.)**

**Doctor:** We'll do what we can.

**(The medics wheel Sasami into a room and close the door behind them. Concerned, Mihoshi and Nobuyuki watch them vanish to their work while Yosho steps out, leaning on a cane. The architect turns to his father-in-law.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Dad, it's Sasami.

**(The legendary man's eyes widen, surprised and concerned himself.)**

**Yosho:** Sasami? Where did they find her?

**Nobuyki:** She kinda appeared near us.

**Yosho:** How is she?

**Mihoshi:** She was very cold, but breathing.

**(The grandfather considers this situation for a moment while the other two continue.)**

**Nobuyuki:** I'd heard from Ryoko and Nagi that Sasami was the one who wounded Tokimi.

**Mihoshi:** Does Ayeka...?

**(Nobuyuki nods.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, she knew about that, apparently.

**(His brows furrowed, Yosho inquires.)**

**Yosho:** Ayeka and Nagi? You spoke with them?

**(The architect nods.)**

**Nobuyuki:** Yeah, right before they left.

**(Realization fills the old warrior's eyes while his son-in-law adds, lowering his eyes.)**

**Nobuyuki:** They went with Tenchi and Ryoko to fight Tokimi one more time. They thought if she was wounded now, then they might have a chance to beat her.

**(Solemnly, the grandfather closes his eyes before a familiar voice speaks.)**

**Washu:** They just might do it.

**(Mihoshi, Yosho, and Nobuyuki turn as the Ryoan genius storms by them, her green eyes set on the ward before her. One of her hands is on her phantom laptop, where the battle outside is being streamed from Pii's perspective. Around the action, several measurements peak of the set scales, each having to readjust regularly with the flux.)**

**(With a few keystrokes, a monitor at a nearby nurse's station shines to life, showing the conflict. She continues onward, commenting.)**

**Washu:** I'll look after Sasami. See you when it's over.

**(As the others watch the war waged in the streets, Washu throws the doors to Sasami's room open, immediately taking authority of the medics there.)**

**(Outside, two of Tokimi's wings clash and crack against the respective swords of Tenchi and Pii. Ryoko thrusts Kamidake's staff at the dark matron, but as the dark keys on her shoulders burn black, the weapon is deflected. Nagi cuts through this invisible barrier with her dual blade, but a Light Hawk Wing stops her cold.)**

**(More of the deity's wings appear, thrusting out at each of these four. Quickly, Tenchi and Pii guard with their own ethereal constructs. Ryoko's open, protecting her and her half-sister.)**

**(Meanwhile, Ayeka slips beside the two siblings, Azaka's staff held close. Her amethyst eyes focus intently on the enemy as she speaks, a strategy ready.)**

**Ayeka:** We need Tenchi and Pii to strike one of her wings together.

**(Ryoko glances to her, brows furrowed.)**

**Ryoko:** Why?

**(Nagi nods, understanding quickly.)**

**Nagi:** I see.

**(To her, Ayeka inquires.)**

**Ayeka:** Can you strike quickly, Lady Nagi?

**(Tightening her grip on her key, the huntress acknowledges this.)**

**Nagi:** Name the time.

**(Tokimi's eyes shift to the princess, hearing her voice. The matron faces her, her speech cold and distant.)**

**Tokimi:** Enough schemes, Juraian.

**(She vanishes, reappearing near Ayeka. From her claws, crimson lashes whip out, threatening to ensnare the princess. The azure-haired woman sweeps with Azaka's staff, her power smashing through the cords. Ryoko also unleashes a blaze of red from Kamidake's staff, forcing Tokimi to use her two remaining keys to defend. Ayeka motions toward Tenchi and Pii.)**

**Ayeka:** I'll keep her busy! Go!

**(Ryoko shakes her head, her wings appearing.)**

**Ryoko:** Like hell you will!

**(While Tokimi rakes at the two with her broken talons, Ryoko blocks with the crimson key, her words determined.)**

**Ryoko:** You're not doing this alone!

**(Ayeka unleashes her torrent of blue, ripping through the spherical shell around the deity. A Light Hawk Wing appears to deflect the blast while the princess grins to herself and comments.)**

**Ayeka:** Thank you again, Ryoko.

**(Ryoko smirks as they engage the matron. Nagi slides back to Tenchi and Pii, both hurrying to join the fray. Swiftly, the huntress addresses the two.)**

**Nagi:** Strike hard and fast with your wings.

**(Pii glances to her, Nerti's voice blending with his.)**

**Pii-Nerti:** We've been trying that.

**(A glare rises from the purple-haired woman.)**

**Nagi:** But then, hit her last wing with your swords together.

**(Tenchi's brows rise, understanding.)**

**Tenchi:** It could break it.

**(Nagi nods while the Terran hunter holds the crystalline blade close, the gold in his eyes flickering. Nerti's voice calls to him.)**

**Nerti:** … Hurry...

**(He sets his gaze on Tokimi, his own worry becoming more apparent.)**

**Pii-Nerti:** Alright.

**(The silvery white sword held ready, Tenchi glances to Pii.)**

**Tenchi:** Ready?

**Pii-Nerti:** Yeah.

**(Before them, four Light Hawk Wings appear. The two young men nod to one another, a prelude to their last push. Together, Tenchi and Pii rush at Tokimi, the Juraian prince floating over the ground and the Terran riding the jets of his metal wings. Both silver swords, one of Jurai and one of NVO, draw back. Around them, four Light Hawk Wings spiral forward, aimed at their foe. Nagi flies close behind them, the dual blade ready.)**

**(Ahead of them, Tokimi's claws catch Ayeka's arm, the crimson fire tearing into her skin. She cries out and slides back while Ryoko smashes her wings into Tokimi's, the red staff swinging down. The dark matron glances up toward the incoming trio. Immediately, she summons her full complement of Light Hawk Wings, seven functioning in total.)**

**(Four shatter with those of Tenchi and Pii. Two more break when Ryoko's reappear. As broken constructs rain around them, the two silver swords swing forth, impacting the last Light Hawk Wing of the enemy.)**

**(A shockwave radiates from the hit, cracks appearing throughout the whole of the shield. Between the two weapons, sparks of red and blue, black and white, arc when the damage snaps a pinpoint fracture in Tokimi's side of her defense. Gnashing their teeth, Tenchi and Pii push forward, the sparks between their blades coalescing into a spiraling wave of power.)**

**(The wing bursts into shards, spurring the enemy to open her claws. Her two remaining keys flare black as her power gathers in her hands, ready to strike the two young men. However, they spin away, allowing Nagi to dart ahead with her mixed power.)**

**(The huntress's dual blade thrusts forward at Tokimi's chest, tearing through the shields of the dark keys. The deity's talons swing to grasp the edge, and for a moment, she holds it fast. Nagi's crimson eyes burn hatefully at the white mask before her, the woman's muscles straining. In this moment, the daughter of two worlds can hear a voice whispering to her.)**

**Ryoshu:** … Thank you... my little Nagi...

**(A tear appears in Nagi's eye as she cries out, forcing the sword forward. Tokimi's grip gives way, the regal gloves melting against the burning blade. The edge punctures through Tokimi's chest, exiting out her back.)**

**(Elsewhere, Sasami's eyes open with a sudden gasp. Upon her forehead, the twin triangles of Tsunami's presence appear, shining brightly. In this infirmary ward, the physicians step away from her, but Washu stays close, resting a comforting hand on the teen girl's shoulder.)**

**(Celestial voices scream as Nagi twists the sword inside her enemy. The deity's mask cracks, the red and blue light in her eyes igniting white and violet. The enemy rakes her claws at the huntress, but the two Juraian staves swing to her sides, Ryoko and Ayeka guarding their ally. Their energies radiate around each key, scorching the enemy as she falls to her knees.)**

**(For a moment, a female figure of white is seen slightly out of phase with Tokimi's body. This being vanishes as the light in the mask's eyes flickers and dies. The last dark keys fall silent and drop away from their mistress, clattering on the ground below. The enemy's form falls backward, Nagi thrusting her sword into the ground beneath her.)**

**(The huntress's breath hisses between her teeth, her eyes scowling down at her defeated foe. However, tears roll along her cheeks, over the black marks etched in her skin by her power.)**

**(Ayeka falls to her knees, Azaka's staff resting along her thighs. Her breath heaves as her anger falls on the broken white mask of her enemy, the one who took her sister. Her eyes close with a deep breath, her head rolling back. The azure hair fades back to violet, the mark on her cheeks likewise vanishing. A heavy sigh releases the princess to rest her weight on her hands, the battle over.)**

**(Pii falls to a knee, his brow furrowed tightly. The golden light vanishes from his eyes, which revert to the roundness and brown of their original state. The white marking on his forehead fades away. Nearby, a wisp of black flame catches his gaze, where he finds Nerti laying motionless. He slides to her side and gently takes her in his arms, the white blade now shining on her scalp. Her eyes open toward him as she weakly rest her hand on his cheek. The two markings fade from their skin while he holds her close.)**

**(Tenchi stabs his blade into the ground and leans against it, steadying his weary body. His lungs take a moment to find breath. The emblem on his forehead fades along with the gi and hakama around him, leaving him in his torn and tattered clothes from the previous battle. This attention, however, turns toward Ryoko and Nagi ahead of him.)**

**(Ryoko's breath slows, her weight set on the staff key. Tiredness aches through her, but she pushes this aside as she advances on her half-sister. Silently, the former pirate stands with the huntress, who maintains her fiery blended sword. Ryoko glances over the fallen body, her anger still visible in her gaze.)**

**(Yet, the Ryoan then sees the saline marking her sibling's face. A somber feeling fills Ryoko's face seeing the mixed, extreme emotions in Nagi's. She rests a comforting hand on Nagi's shoulder, spurring a sudden, reactionary glare. However, this glare soon fades, as does the blazing sword. Nagi's key and gem fall silent when she falls to her knees at the side of Tokimi's fallen form. The mark on her right cheek vanishes, leaving only the one on her left.)**

**(Ryoko takes a knee with her, the former pirate's own markings and regalia flickering away. She turns her gaze to the enemy's form, the mask in particular. Carefully, she reaches for it, a fear quaking in her mind. Gently, she touches the porcelain, and at this, the mask disintegrates, along with all of Tokimi's garb.)**

**(With a brief gust of wind, Ryoshu Ryua's body is freed, whole and unmarred by this ordeal. Tears then well in Ryoko's eyes as well, filial emotion welling within her. Her sobs come naturally when she holds her arms close, her gaze shut tightly. A warm embrace encircles her, and she clings to it, Tenchi's arms comforting her.)**

Scene 4 – Epilogue

**(A doorway of light opens into the infirmary of the MiB headquarters. From this, Pii carries Nerti, calling for a physician. The blonde young woman clings close to him, weakness felt throughout her body. Soon, a gurney arrives, and Pii lays her carefully onto the mobile bed. Her hand clutches his, and he returns this grip as the Terran follows them down a side corridor. Reflecting, Tenchi narrates the scene.)**

**Tenchi:** After the battle, we quickly returned to the MiB headquarters. Above all, Nerti needed a doctor fast.

**(Ryoko and Nagi step through next, the pair carrying Ryoshu's motionless form. Physicians come to them and help ease their mother's body onto a gurney while Tenchi exits close after them. He remains near Ryoko, a hand on her shoulder, as the doctors wheel away the late Ryoan woman. Her golden eyes watch sadly, an old filial pain lingering.)**

**Tenchi:** I stayed with Ryoko when we got back. Both she and Nagi were really shaken after Tokimi was defeated. I'm sure I would be in their place.

**(Nagi glances distantly, her mixed feelings buried behind her crimson gaze. Lastly, Ayeka appears from the portal before it vanishes. The princess's eyes remain focused on the ground, similarly concealing the warring emotions within her.)**

**Tenchi:** Nagi tried not to show it, but I knew she was hurting too. Her life had changed a lot in the last few months, and it would take her some time to sort it out.

**(Ryoko's tears reappear, and Tenchi's arm wraps around her shoulder, drawing her to his chest. Her hand rests on his side, exchanging his touch. Ayeka watches from the corner of her eye, the ache in her heart still fresh even in her silence.)**

**Tenchi:** But, it was Ayeka who hurt the worst of all, I think. When she thought she lost Sasami, it broke something inside her. The closeness that I now had with Ryoko didn't help that at all.

**(Tenchi's brown eyes glance up to see the longing in Ayeka just before she looks away, pushing the feeling away. Guiltily, the young prince lowers his gaze.)**

**Tenchi:** This isn't the way it should have ended. I never wanted to hurt Ayeka, or Ryoko either.

**(Then, a nurse approaches Ayeka and gains her attention. In a few sentences, the princess's eyes widen, a joyous amazement filling them. Tenchi and Ryoko also listen, their own surprise evident. Tears start streaming down Ayeka's cheeks as her hands release Azaka's staff to clatter on the floor.)**

**Tenchi:** Thankfully, her cloud had a silver lining.

**(The violet-tressed woman hurries off, the nurse rushing after her. Tenchi and Ryoko follow, as the scene shifts to a quiet room in the infirmary. Here, the teenage Sasami lies restfully, Washu at her side. The door opens, rousing the researcher's attention from the recordings and data of the battle. From the doorway, Ayeka enters, her tears unabated. She quickly kneels at her sister's bedside, her feelings of joy overwhelming her regal training.)**

**(Washu smiles to herself as she steps away, giving the princess space. She wanders to the door, where Tenchi and Ryoko also watch happily.)**

**Tenchi:** Washu says Tsunami probably used the last of her power to preserve Sasami at the end of her battle with Tokimi. She wasn't the woman Tsunami had made her, but she wasn't the little girl she was anymore either.

**(Sasami's eyes blink open slowly and soon find her sister. With Ayeka's name on her lips, the azure haired princess gains her sibling's attention. She offers her hand, and Ayeka gently takes it in her own.)**

**Tenchi:** She had aged five years, but she also had matured mentally too. Her memories were muddled about what she did as Tsunami, but she was alive and safe. I think that's all that matters, really.

**(Tenchi's arm snakes around Ryoko's shoulders, and her hand touches his.)**

**Tenchi:** She grew up.

**(Elsewhere, Azaka opens the door to Kamidake's room, allowing Nagi to enter. The blue knight bows respectfully to her, and she reciprocates, properly offering him the two staff keys of Jurai. He accepts them graciously while her eyes slide to the wounded knight nearby. Azaka smiles softly, watching her distant attention as she inquires about his partner's condition.)**

**Tenchi:** We all did.

**(Later, a somber rain falls on the hills near the Masaki shrine. Together, Ryoko and Nagi stand over a memorial stone, the huntress with her cowl pulled over her spikes of hair and Ryoko with a simple umbrella. On their shoulders are Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki, their somber expressions mirroring those of their mistresses. Etched on the stone is the Juraiji for "Ryua Ryoshu".)**

**Tenchi:** Our world changed after that.

**(After a moment, the two women turn and face the others in attendance with them: Tenchi, Sasami, Nobuyuki, and Yosho. The grandfather offers a few stoic words from beneath Nobuyuki's umbrella. The others bow their heads respectfully while the sisters join them.)**

**Tenchi:** All the damage from the battles across Manhattan, as well as the worldwide coverage of the NVO distortion made a cover-up by the Men in Black impractical.

**(In the MiB headquarters, Zed sits at his desk, J and K' standing on either side of him. Both agents wear their trademark suits and sunglasses while their chief addresses a host of television cameras opposite them. Across the world, viewers watch Zed's exposition of the MiB and their mission.)**

**Tenchi:** Zed had a teleconference with several government heads around the world. He explained the presence of the MiB as well as the recent crisis with the distortion.

**(In the Oval Office within the White House, the current president of the United States sits forward in his chair, questioning Zed. The man runs a hand through his white hair at the chief agent's cool and calculated responses. The president glances over to his saxophone in thought, considering the evidence presented before him. Other political figures ask their questions in the intervening time.)**

**Tenchi:** Specifically, Zed elaborated that the Galaxy Police and the Jurai Empire helped stop the crisis. Not long afterward, several major countries of the world sat down and talked with representatives of both the Galactic Union and Jurai.

**(Later, the president and several other national leaders are seated in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations building in New York. On the floor, Zed stands with Kiyone Makibi and another GP officer. The teal-tressed lady's uniform is far more formal and ornate, her rank visibly seen to be lieutenant. The new officer wears a similar costume but wears the rank of captain, his blue eyes seemingly benign. His hair is cut short, mostly covered by his hat.)**

**Tenchi:** It took time, but all of Earth became aware of life in space. It was a shock for many at first, and there were some troubles along the way.

**(A green light appears near Zed, allowing three men to step forward. Flanked by the knights Azaka and Kamidake, Emperor Jurai Azusa II emerges from the light, bringing a surprise to the prime minister of Japan. He addresses the gathered leaders, each listening closely to what his words. Time lapses, and the GP captain speaks, periodically handing the floor to Kiyone. She speaks clearly and concisely, relating her experience as a GP officer and an immigrant to Earth.)**

**Tenchi:** Kiyone was their prime example of an immigrant to Earth, though several from New York also stepped forward later. For her dutiful actions in handling the distortion, she was promoted and moved to a new post in New York. Since the MiB no longer needed to conceal extraterrestrial presence on Earth, they were slowly integrated into the Galaxy Police as a new Terran Branch. Kiyone took charge of training many of the MiB personnel and new recruits during the changeover.

**(Kiyone glances aside, a grin on her lips. She motions into the crowd, and the attendees see Mihoshi sitting in her own seat. No longer in a GP uniform, she wears only a formal dress, her hair left to fall around her shoulders. She smiles and waves to the Terran leaders, who also blink in surprise at her elfin ears, notably alien.)**

**Tenchi:** Mihoshi, however, chose to leave the Galaxy Police. When Mitsuki was killed, each of them was affected, but in very different ways. Kiyone was galvanized to improve herself, as well as the GP as a whole, to prevent and avert threats like Tokimi.

**(She stands and addresses the assembly, her voice sweet and friendly as it ever as been.)**

**Tenchi:** Mihoshi, on the other hand, wanted a simpler life away from danger. They're still very close friends, probably closer now than they were as partners.

**(Some time after this, Kiyone stands from her desk and turns to the window behind her. Outside, hovering cranes erect new towers of steel and glass, Manhattan rebuilding itself. A man's arms embrace her from behind, also in a GP uniform. Warmly, she smiles and folds her arms over his.)**

**Tenchi:** I've heard from them both periodically, and they're doing great. Mihoshi has found herself a boyfriend that she never can seem to stop talking about. Kiyone always seems wrapped up in her work. She's always been career-driven, but I hope she doesn't lose herself in it.

**(The two turn to face one another before their lips touch softly, the sun setting over the horizon behind them. The scene shifts back to Okayama, where the tree-ships Funaho and Ryu-Oh float in the lake near the Masaki home. Tenchi, Ryoko, Nagi, Washu, Sasami, Nobuyuki, and Yosho are assembled at the edge of the water, facing Ayeka. Regally, the princess speaks to her friends and loved ones, a somber tone to her voice.)**

**Tenchi:** But, it wasn't just the planet changing.

**(Sadly, Tenchi and Ryoko nod, accepting her words. The prince does speak warmly back to her, which brings a tear to the violet-tressed princess. The former pirate exchanges gazes with her, both understanding without words. Nagi bows her head slightly and respectfully. Nobuyuki extends his hand and an offer to return, but Ayeka gently passes this offer.)**

**Tenchi:** Through all that happened these last three years, Ayeka's heart had been twisted, torn, and broken. She needed time away. I knew she did. So did Ryoko.

**(However, Sasami rushes to her sister and embraces her, the teen's arms holding tightly. Ayeka wraps her arms around her sibling and apologizes, her own sobs held back only by her regal will.)**

**Tenchi:** … But, Sasami didn't.

**(Gently, Ayeka eases her sister away, explaining very carefully her reasons. Sasami's eyes still weep, but she listens.)**

**Tenchi:** Ayeka needed to sort out her life so she was leaving for Jurai, permanently. In all honesty, she probably wanted to take Sasami with her.

**(The elder princess then motions to Tenchi and the others, continuing her explanation.)**

**Tenchi:** But, she knew Sasami needed to stay on Earth, even if Sasami herself didn't know it. Tsunami had changed her, and none of us, even Washu, knew how deeply. "There are people on Jurai," she said, "who would take Sasami and ruin her just to obtain Tsunami."

**(Ayeka kisses Sasami's forehead, telling her one more time of her sisterly love. Her own tears roll down her cheeks as she hugs her sibling close in their goodbye.)**

**Tenchi:** "She needs a normal life, the life we found here on Earth."

**(Carefully, Ayeka slips from Sasami's grasp and backs toward Ryu-Oh. The younger princess holds her arms close, trying not to cry any more as the emerald light of the teleporter envelops her sister. Around Sasami, the others gather, both waving their farewells and supporting the azure-tressed teen.)**

**Tenchi:** We all promised to watch over her and give her that life, to protect her in Ayeka's stead.

**(Reluctantly, Sasami also raises her hand to wave too while Ayeka vanishes in the light and is taken within Ryu-Oh. The tree-ship slowly lifts from the waters of the lake and disappears into the sky. Below, the remaining princess wipes her eyes, surrounded by her closest friends. Ryo-Ohki and Ken-Ohki hop onto her shoulders, mewing sadly. With a distant grin, she pets them both, her eyes closing.)**

**Tenchi:** She had a rough time, but she grew even more.

**(Washu glances up at the mark on Sasami's forehead, her thoughts already moving.)**

**Tenchi:** I sometimes wonder what became of Tsunami and Tokimi. Both of them embodied the powers of Jurai and Ryua. Since the two energies are still around, I think they survived somehow. What this means for Sasami, I don't know.

**(The scene shifts to a completely restored Manhattan Island. Here, the streets are filled with people and vehicles in their daily commute. However, new technology reminiscent of other worlds of the galaxy can be seen readily as well: hovering cars, star-ships descending from the sky, and alien races in plain sight.)**

**Tenchi:** It's been a year now since Tokimi came to Earth, and so much has changed everywhere.

**(Tenchi walks through the people, his hair grown into a long, raven tail down his back. Matured, his body is more well-defined beneath his brown formal cloak from Jurai. At his side walks Ryoko, her cyan spikes tied behind her head. Similarly, her form has become more defined with a year's time, even beneath a formal blue and white gown. Around her left wrist, she still wears the bracelet made for her by Tsunami while she has a golden wedding ring on her left ring finger. She holds an infant boy, his eyes brown and hair cyan. His interested gaze is squarely on Ryo-Ohki, who sits prominently on Tenchi's shoulder. The cabbit mews at the child, spurring smiles and laughter from both the boy and his parents.)**

**Tenchi:** In the past year, Ryoko and I were married and brought our son, Masato, into the world.

**(Close behind, Nagi follows, dressed in her usual bounty hunter's attire. Just as lean and strong as ever, her sword and whip are close at hand, ready for use. Her hair is parted by her hair-band key, which still carries the crimson gem from Tsunami. While Ryoko holds her son closer to Ryo-Ohki, letting him reach for the cabbit, Nagi sighs and shakes her head, bored with the scene. However, as Ryo-Ohki mews playfully at the boy, Ken-Ohki meows from atop the huntress's shoulder. Masato glances over to him and coos happily. Ryoko laughs and smirks at Nagi, making a few remarks.)**

**Tenchi:** In those early days, things were pretty unstable, and Nagi found a lot of work around Earth. She also worked with Grandpa to learn how to use her two powers safely. Ryoko still teases her, particularly these days about being single.

**(The purple-haired woman barks back, a slight scowl to her eyes. The cyan-maned mother scoffs and holds her son close, retorting glibly. A drop of sweat beads in Tenchi's hair while he keeps quiet.)**

**Tenchi:** I've found the best thing to do is to keep out of it.

**(Soon, they arrive at a park, lush with green plants interwoven with the modern architecture. At the center stands a statue depicting the original two towers that once stood on this foundation. Close by, a bronze plaque tells the tale of a Juraian tree-ship and Grey saucer, damaged in the distortion's wake, which crashed into the two towers. The group arrives and glances over the structure. Ryoko reads the plaque, her mind drifting back to the true events, to Ryoshu-Tokimi's gesture and words.)**

**Tenchi:** Zed did us one last favor. When he explained the destruction of Manhattan, he omitted all references of Tsunami and Tokimi to the general public. That, in itself, saved us all a lot of grief.

**(A call from their side steals their attention from the monument to the group approaching them. Tenchi smiles and welcomes Pii and Nerti. The Terran hunter, much like Nagi, is dressed in his trench coat, which serves to conceal his armor. However, for this occasion, he has removed his cap and visor, bearing his true face with these friends. Nerti wears the emerald green of a Universal Science Academy professor, much like Washu has in the past. Her blonde hair is tied in her usual style of a great vixen's tail. On her left ring finger, she wears a silver wedding ring while on her right, the ring of Tsunami is shown. In her arms, she too carries an infant daughter. The little girl's auburn hair is pulled back into a ponytail like her mother's, her shy brown eyes hiding against Nerti's shoulder.)**

**Tenchi:** Will and Nerti also slipped away to clean up the fallout from the last few years. In that time, they finally married and even had a daughter, Angelica.

**(The two families greet one another, Ryoko and Nerti particularly letting the infants see one another. Mimicking their mothers, the children wave at one another, Angelica smiling while Masato purses his lips. Ryoko raises a brow and rhetorically asks her son about why he is sour. Nerti smiles wryly, as do their husbands.)**

**Tenchi:** We've kept ties with them, which has been good for all of us, I think. They've had a lot of the same troubles, and together, we pulled through each one.

**(Nagi folds her arms and remarks toward Pii. He grimaces at her while Ryoko waves off Nagi, making another crack at her half-sister.)**

**Tenchi:** Although, Nagi and Pii don't always get along either. Most of it is professional, though Ryoko likes to take the opportunity to mess with her sister.

**(Tenchi then asks a serious question of Pii. Ryoko somberly glances aside at the question while Nerti offers an explanation. Pii considers it for a moment while Nagi comments plainly.)**

**Tenchi:** Part of me always worried about Ayeka.

**(A few soft words arise from behind the monument. Everyone turns to see Ayeka step out, dressed in the highest of Jurai's regalia. Tenchi and Ryoko welcome her warmly while Pii and Nerti respectfully bow. Nagi leans against a nearby wall, waving her hand briefly.)**

**Tenchi:** I sometimes wonder how things might be if we had made different choices, if we went a different way.

**(Ayeka bows, welcoming and thanking them all. The group then turns to the monument, each reflecting on the past year, as well as the day the defeated the Matron of Ryua.)**

**Tenchi:** However, I look at us all now, and how we were then.

**(The image fades to the five standing over Ryoshu's fallen body, each tired and spent.)**

**Tenchi:** I think less about how things could have been, and more about how they will be.

**(The scene shifts back to the monument with the modern forms of the five and their families. Tenchi himself looks to Masato and Angelica, smiling to himself.)**

**Tenchi:** What inheritance will we leave to them?


End file.
